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THE    BOY'S    FROLIC— Page  301 


SEVENTH   THOUSAND. 


THE 


SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON; 

OK, 

ADVENTURES 

OP 

A  FATHER  4#D  MOTHER  AND  FOUR  SONS 

IN     A     DESERT    ISLAND: 

THE    GENUINE    PROGRESS  OF  TIIE    STORY  FORMING  A  CLEAB 

ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  FIRST   PRINCIPLES  OF  NATURAL 

HISTORY,    AND    MANY   BRANCHES    OF    SCIENCE 

WHICH   MOST    IMMEDIATELY   APPLY   TO 

THE   BUSINESS    OF   LIFE. 

TO  'WHICH  ARE  ADDED, 

NOTES  OF  REFERENCE, 

EXPLANATORY    OP    THE    SUBJECTS    TREATED   OP. 
WITH    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FROM  SEVENTH  LONDON  EDITION. 


AUBURNT  AND  BUFFALO: 

MILLER,    ORTOjS"    &    MULLIGAN. 

1  854. 


t 


1 


auburn: 

MILLEE,    OETON   &   MULLIGAN, 

STEREOTYPERS  AND  PRINTERS. 


ADVERTISEMENT  BY  THE  EDITOR. 

A  Pastor  or  Clergyman  of  West  Switzerland, 
having  lost  his  fortune  in  the  Revolution  of  1798, 
resolved,  on  reflecting  on  the  family  he  had  to  bring 
up,  to  become  a  voluntary  exile,  and  to  seek  in 
other  climates  the  means  of  support.  He  sailed, 
accordingly,  with  his  wife  and  children,  four  sons, 
from  twelve  to  five  years  of  age,  for  England,  where 
he  accepted  an  appointment  of  Missionary  to  Ota- 
heite ;  not  that  he  had  any  desire  to  take  up  his 
abode  in  that  Island,  but  that  he  had  conceived  the 
plan  of  passing  from  thence  to  Port  Jackson,  and 
domiciliating  himself  there  as  a  free  settler.  He 
possessed  a  considerable  knowledge  of  agriculture, 
and  by  this  means  hoped,  with  the  aid  of  his  sons, 
to  gain  an  advantageous  establishment,  which  his 
own  country,  convulsed  with  the  horrors  of  war, 
denied  him.  He  turned  the  small  remnant  of  his 
fortune  into  money,  and  bought  with  it  seeds  of 
various  sorts,  and  a  few  cattle,  as  a  farming  stock. 
The  family  took  their  passage  accordingly,  sat- 
isfied with  this  consolation  —  that  they  should  still 
remain  together;  and  they  sailed  with  favorable 
winds  till  in  sight  of  New  Guinea.  Here  they 
were  attacked  by  a  destructive  and  unrelenting 
tempest ;  and  it  is  in  this  crisis  of  their  Adventures 
that  the  Swiss  Pastor,  or  Family  Robinson,  begins 
the  Journal  which  is  now  presented  to  the  Public. 


' 


CONTENTS 


Chap.  Page 

1.  A  Shipwreck,  and  Preparations  for  De- 

liverance .         .         .         .         .11 

2.  A  Landing,  and  consequent  Occupations     20 

3.  Yoyage  of  Discovery     .  .         .         .48 

4.  Keturn  from  the  Voyage  of  Discovery; 

—  a  Nocturnal  alarm         .         .         .82 

5.  Return  to  the  Wreck    .         .         .         .109 

6.  A  Troop  of  Animals  in  Cork  Jackets     .  127 

7.  Second  Journey  of  Discovery,  performed 

by  the  Mother  of  the  Family     .         .     45 

8.  Construction  of  a  Bridge       .         .         .67 

9.  Change  of  Abode  ....     86 

10.  Construction  of  a  Ladder       .         .         .  207 

11.  The  Settling  in  the  Giant  Tree      .         .  223 

12.  The  Sabbath  and  the  Parable         .         .  230 

13.  Conversation,    a    Walk,    and   important 

Discoveries       .         .•  .         .  254 

14.  Continuation  of  the  preceding  Chapter, 

and  more  Discoveries         ,         .         .267 

15.  Hopes  of  a  Sledge;  —  some  short  Les- 

sons in  useful  Things         .         .         .284 

16.  A  Bathing,  a  Fishing,  the  Jumping  Hare, 

and  a  Masquerade     ....  290 

17.  More  Stores  from  the  Wreck         .         .305 

18.  The  Tortoise  harnessed  .  .         .  312 

19.  Another  Trip  to  the  Wreck  .         .  324 

20.  The  Cracker  and  the  Pinnace       .         .  339 


VI  CONTENTS. 

Chap.  Page 

21.  Gymnastic  Exercises ;  —  various  Discov- 

eries;—  singular  Animals,  &c.  .  361 

22.  Excursion  into  unknown  Tracts     .         .  384 

23.  Useful  Occupations  and  Labors;  —  Em- 

bellishments ;  —  a  painful  but  natural 
Sentiment        .'....  404 

24.  A  new  Domain;  —  the  troop  of  Buffa- 

loes;—  the  Vanquished  Hero    .         .  418 

25.  The  Malabar  Eagle;  —  Sago  Manufac- 

tory;—  Bees  .         ...         .         .  439 

26.  Treatment  of  Bees ; — Staircase ; — Train- 

ing of  various  Animals;  —  Manufac- 
tures, &c.         .....  456 

27.  The  Wild  Ass ;  —  Difficulty  in  Breaking 

it;  —the  Heath-Fowl's  Nest     .         .474 

28.  Flax,  and  the  Rainy  Season  .         .  492 

29.  Spring; ---Spinning; — Salt-Mine         .  508 

30.  House  in  the  Salt-rock ;  Herring  fishery  528 

31.  New   Fishery;  —  new  Experiments;  — 

New  Discoveries,  and  House      .         .  540 

32.  Completion   of  two  Farm-Houses;  —  a 

Lake;  —  the  Beast  with  a  Bill; — a 

Boat 561 

Postscript  by  the  Editor     .         .  •       .         .585 


PREFACE 

TO    THE 

7TH  EDITION  OF  THE  SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

The  Editor  confesses  that  he  expected  the  favor 
which  has  been  shown  by  the  Public  to  the  present 
work,  in  the  sale  of  six  large  editions ;  for  the  sit- 
uations it  exhibits  of  the  best  affections  of  our  na- 
ture, are  such  as  to  "come  home  to  every  bosom/' 
to  interest  and  gratify  both  parents  and  children 
of  all  ages  and  descriptions.  In  its  pages  the  use- 
ful, the  moral,  and  the  entertaining,  so  naturally 
mix  with  or  succeed  each  other,  that  every  gener- 
ous taste  is  suited.  No  story  can  be  better  calcu- 
lated than  this  of  the  Swiss  Pastor  and  his  Family 
to  awaken  and  reward  curiosity,  to  excite  amiable 
sympathies,  to  show  the  young  inquirer  after  good, 
that  the  accidents  of  life  may  be  repaired  by  the 
efforts  of  his  own  thought,  and  the  constancy  of 
his  own  industry ;  and  to  rouse  the  most  inert  to 
emulation. — What  youthful  reader  of  lively  dis- 
positions, who  would  not  try  to  possess,  or  dream 
of  the  possession  of,  a  saw,  a  hammer,  and  some 
nails,  and  hurry  in  fancy  to  the  contrivance  of  a 
Family  Bridge,  a  staircase  to  Falcon's  Nest,  or  a 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

parlor,  a  bedroom,  and  a  kitchen,  in  a  Rock  of 
Salt?  What  lad  who  can  see  with  unflushed 
cheek,  Ernest,  and  Jack,  and  Francis,  all  together 
on  the  oack  of  their  ferocious  but  now  subdued 
buffalo,  and  guiding  his  motions  at  their  pleasure ; 
or  descry  "Fritz  driving  along  our  avenue  like 
lightning,"  on  his  disciplined  onagra,  without  feel- 
ing his  personal  courage  expand  as  he  turns  the 
page  ?  What  heart  that  will  not  swell  with  kind- 
ness for  the  exemplary  mother  of  the  family,  who 
tastes  not  of  the  refreshing  draught  obtained  by 
her  own  care  and  labor,  till  all  her  dear  ones  have 
drunk  and  are  refreshed  ?  —  or  what  eye  repress  a 
tear  when  her  little  Francis,  clinging  to  her  side, 
cries,  "Welcome!"  too,  "though  not  well  knowing 
whether  lie  was  to  be  sad  or  merry?"  Who  does 
not  partake  the  affecting  sentiment  of  the  interest- 
ing group,  who  "  with  their  heads  sinking  on  their 
bosoms,  took  the  road  to  Tent-House,"  when  the 
ship  had  disappeared  forever  !  And  can  we  suffi- 
ciently admire  the  fortitude,  the  self-sacrifice,  the 
industry,  the  fervor,  the  almost  unexampled  skill, 
that  guided  this  affectionate  .pair  to  results  so 
happy,  in  circumstances  of  such  dismay  and  dan- 
ger! 


THE 


V  SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A  Shipwreck,  and  Preparations  for  Deliverance. 

....  Already  the  tempest  had  continued 
six  days ;  on  the  seventh  its  fury  seemed  still 
increasing ;  and  the  morning  dawned  upon 
us  -without  a  prospect  of  hope,  for  we  had 
wandered  so  far  from  the  right  track,  and 
were  so  forcibly  driven  toward  the  southeast, 
that  none  on  board  knew  where  we  were.  The 
ship's  company  were  exhausted  by  labor  and 
watching,  and  the  courage  which  had  sustain- 
ed them,  was  now  sinking.  The  shivered 
masts  had  been  cast  into  the  sea ;  several 
leaks  appeared,  and  the  ship  began  to  fill. 
The  sailors  'forebore  from  swearing ;  many 
were  at  prayer  on  their  knees,  while  others 
A 


2  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

offered  miracles  of  future  piety  and  goodness, 
as  the  condition  of  their  release  from  danger. 
"My  beloved  children,"  said  I  to  my  four 
boys,  who  clung  to  me  in  their  fright,  "  God 
can  save  us,  for  nothing  is  impossible  to  him. 
We  must  however  hold  ourselves  resigned, 
and  instead  of  murmuring  at  his  decree,  rely 
that  what  he  sees  fit  to  do  is  best,  and  that 
should  he  call  us  from  this  earthly  scene,  we 
shall  be  near  him  in  heaven,  and  united 
through  eternity.  Death  may  be  well  sup- 
ported when  it  does  not  separate  those  who 
love." 

My  excellent  wife  wiped  the  tears  which 
were  falling  on  her  cheeks,  and  from' this  mo- 
ment became  more  tranquil :  she  encouraged 
the  youngest  children,  who  were  leaning  on 
her  knees ;  while  I,  who  owed  them  an  exam- 
ple of  firmness,  was  scarcely  able  to  resist 
my  grief  at  the  thought  of  what  would  most 
likely  be  the  fate  of  beings  so  tenderly  be- 
loved. We  all  fell  on  our  knees,  and  suppli- 
cated the  God  of  Mercy  to  protect  us ;  and 
the  emotion  and  fervor  of  the  innocent  crea- 
tures, are  a  convincing  proof  that,  even  in 
childhood,  devotion  may  be  felt  and  under- 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  3 

stood,  and  that  tranquillity  and  consolation, 
its  natural  effects,  may  at  that  season  be  no 
less  certainly  experienced.  Fritz,  my  eldest 
son,  implored  in  a  loud  voice,  that  God  "would 
deign  to  save  his  dear  parents  and  his  broth- 
ers, generously  unmindful  of  himself:  the 
boys  rose  from  their  posture  with  a  state  of 
mind  so  improved,  that  they  seemed  forgetful 
of  the  impending  danger.  I  myself  began 
to  feel  my  hopes  increase  as  I  beheld  the  af- 
fecting group.  Heaven  will  surely  have  pity 
on  them,  thought  I,  and  -will  save  their  pa- 
rents to  guard  their  tender  years  ! 

At  this  moment  a  cry  of  "  Land,  Land  !  " 
was  heard  through  the  roaring  of  the  waves, 
and  instantly  the  vessel  struck  against  a  rock 
with  so  violent  a  motion  as  to  drive  every  one 
from  his  place ;  a  tremendous  cracking  suc- 
ceeded, as  if  the  ship  was  going  to  pieces ; 
the  sea  rushed  in,  in  all  directions ;  we  per- 
ceived that  the  vessel  had  grounded,  and  could 
not  long  hold  together.  The  captain  called 
out  that  all  was  lost,  and  bade  the  men  lose 
not  a  moment  in  putting  out  the  boats.  The 
sounds  fell  on  my  heart  like  a  thrust  from  a 
dagger ;    "  We  are  lost !  "  I  exclaimed ;   and 


2  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

the  children  broke  out  into  piercing  cries.  I 
then  recollected  myself,  and  addressing  them 
again,  exhorted  them  to  courage,  by  observing 
that  the  water  had  not  yet  reached  us,  that  the 
ship  was  near  land,  and  that  Providence  would 
assist  the  brave.  "Keep  where  you  are," 
added  I,  "  while  I  go  and  examine  what  is  best 
to  be  done." 

I  now  went  on  the  deck.  A  wave  instantly 
threw  me  down,  and  wetted  me  to  the  skin ; 
another  followed,  and^then  another.  I  sus- 
tained myself  as  steadily  as  I  could;  and 
looking  around,  a  scene  of  terrific  and  com- 
plete disaster  met  my  eyes  ;  the  ship  was  shat- 
tered in  all  directions,  and  on  one  side  there 
was  a  complete  breach.  The  ship's  company 
crowded  into  the  boats  till  they  could  contain 
not  one  man  more,  and  the  last  who  entered, 
were  now  cutting  the  ropes  to  move  off.  I 
called  to  them  with  almost  frantic  entreaties 
to  stop  and  receive  us  also,  but  in  vain;  for 
the  roaring  of  the  sea  prevented  my  being 
heard,  and  the  waves,  which  rose  to  the 
height  of  mountains,  would  have  made  it  im- 
possible to  return.  All  hope  from  this  source 
was  over,  for  while  I  spoke,  the  boats,  and  all 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  5 

they  contained,  were  driving  out  of  sight. 
My  best  consolation  now  was  to  observe,  that 
the  slanting  position  the  ship  had  taken,  would 
afford  us  present  protection  from  the  water ; 
and  that  the  stern,  under  which  was  the  cabin 
that  inclosed  all  that  was  dear  to  me  on  earth, 
had  been  driven  upwards  between  two  rocks, 
and  seemed  immovably  fixed.  At  the  same 
time,  in  the  distance  southward,  I  descried 
through  clouds  and  rain  several  nooks  of  land, 
which,  though  rude  and  savage  in  appearance, 
were  the  objects  of  every  hope  I  could  form 
in  this  distressing  moment. 

Sunk  and  desolate  from  the  loss  of  all 
chance  of  human  aid,  it  was  yet  my  duty  to 
appear  serene  before  my  family :  "  Courage, 
dear  ones,"  cried  I,  on  entering  their  cabin, 
"  let  us  not  desert  ourselves :  I  will  not  con- 
ceal from  you  that  the  ship  is  aground ;  but 
we  are  at  least  in  greater  safety  than  if  she 
were  beating  upon  the  rocks :  our  cabin  is 
above  water;  and  should  the  sea  be  more 
calm  to-morrow,  we  may  yet  find  means  to 
reach  the  land  in  safety." 

What  I  had  just  said,  appeased  their  fears  ; 
for  my  family  had  the  habit  of  confiding  in 

A* 


6  THE   SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

my  assurances.  They  now  began  to  feel  the 
advantage  of  the  ship's  remaining  still;  for 
its  motion  had  been  most  distressing,  by  jost- 
ling them  one  against  another,  or  whatever 
happened  to  be  nearest.  My  wife,  however, 
more  accustomed  than  the  children  to  read 
my.  inmost  thoughts,  perceived  the  anxiety 
which  devoured  me.  I  made  her  a  sign  which 
conveyed  an  idea  @f  the  hopelessness  of  our 
situation,  and  I  had  the  consolation  to  see 
that  she  was  resolved  to  support  the  trial  with 
resignation:  "Let  us  take  some  nourish- 
ment," said  she,  "  our  courage  will  strengthen 
with  our  bodies ;  we  shall  perhaps  need  this 
comfort  to  support  a  long  and  melancholy 
night." 

Soon  after,  night  set  in :  the  fury  of  the 
tempest  had  not  abated;  the  planks  and 
beams  of  the  vessel  separated  in  many  parts 
with  a  horrible  crash.  We  thought  of  the 
boats,  and  feared  that  all  they  contained  must 
have  sunk  under  the  foaming  surge. 

My  wife  had  prepared  a  slender  meal,  and 
the  four  boys  partook  of  it  with  an  appetite 
to  which  their  parents  were  strangers.  They 
went  to  bed,  and  exhausted  by  fatigue,  soon 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  7 

were  snoring  soundly.  Fritz,  the  eldest,  sat 
up  with  us  :  "I  have  been  thinking,"  said  he, 
after  a  long  silence,  "  how  it  may  be  possible 
to  save  ourselves.  If  we  had  some  bladders 
or  cork- jackets  for  my  mother  and  my  broth- 
ers, you  and  I,  father,  would  soon  contrive  to 
swim  to  land." 

"That  is  a  good  thought,"  said  I:  "we 
will  see  what  can  be  done." 

Fritz  and  I  looked  about  for  some  small 
empty  firkins :  these  we  tied  two  and  two 
together  with  handkerchiefs  or  towels,  leav- 
ing about  a  foot  distance  between  them,  and 
fastened  them  as  swimming-jackets  under  the 
arms  of  each  child,  my  wife  at  the  same  time 
preparing  one  for  herself.  We  provided  our- 
selves with  knives,  some  string,  some  turfs, 
and  other  necessaries  which  could  be  put  into 
the  pocket,  proceeding  upon  the  hope,  that  if 
the  ship  went  to  pieces  in  the  night,  we  should 
either  be  able  to  swim  to  land,  or  be  driven 
thither  by  the  waves. 

Fritz,  who  had  been  up  all  night,  and  was 
fatigued  with  his  laborious  occupations,  now 
lay  down  near  his  brothers,  and  was  soon 
asleep ;  but  their  mother  and  I,  too  anxious 


8  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

to  close  our  eyes,  kept  watch,  listening  to 
every  sound  that  seemed  to  threaten  a  further 
change  in  our  situation.  We  passed  this 
awful  night  in  prayer,  in  agonizing  apprehen- 
sions, and  in  forming  various  resolutions  as  to 
what  we  should  next  attempt.  We  hailed 
with  joy  the  first  gleam  of  light  which  shot 
through  a  small  opening  of  the  window.  The 
raging  of  #the  winds  had  begun  to  abate,  the 
sky  was  become  serene,  and  hope  throbbed  in 
my  bosom,  as  I  beheld  the  sun  already  ting- 
ing the  horizon.  Thus  revived,  I '  summoned 
my  wife  and  the  boys  to  the  deck,  to  partake 
of  the  scene.  The  youngest  children,  half 
forgetful  of  the  past,  asked  with  surprise  why 
we  were  there  alone,  and  what  had  become  of 
the  ship's  company  ?  I  led  them  to  the  recol- 
lection of  our  misfortune,  and  then  added : 
"Dearest  children,  a  Being  more  powerful 
than  man  has  helped  us,  and  will,  no  doubt, 
continue  to  help  us,  if  we  do  not  abandon  our- 
selves to  a  fruitless  despair.  Observe,  our 
companions,  in  whom  we  had  so  much  confi- 
dence, have  deserted  us,  and  that  Divine 
Providence,  in  its  goodness,  has  given  us  pro- 
tection !     But,  my  dear  ones,   let  us  show 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  9 

ourselves  filling  in  our  exertions,  and  thus 
deserve  support  from  Heaven.  Let  us  not 
forget  this  useful  maxim,  and  let  each  labor 
according  to  his  strength." 

Fritz  advised  that  we  should  all  throw  our- 
selves into  the  sea,  while  it  was  calm,  and 
swim  to  land.  —  "Ah!  that  may  be  well 
enough  for  you,"  said  Ernest,  "  for  you  can 
swim  ;  but  we  others  should  soon  J^e  drowned. 
Would  it  not  be  better  to  make  a  float  of 
rafts,  and  get  to  land  altogether  upon  it?  " 

"  Vastly  well,"  answered  I,  "  if  we  had  the 
means  for  contriving  such  a  float,  and  if,  after 
all,  it  were  not  a  dangerous  sort  of  convey- 
ance. But  come,  my  boys,  look  each  of  you 
about  the  ship,  and  see  what  can  be  done  to 
enable  us  to  reach  the  land." 

They  now  all  sprang  from  me  with  eager 
looks,  to  do  as  I  desired.  I,  on  my  part,  lost 
no  time  in  examining  what  we  had  to  depend 
upon  as  to  provisions  and  fresh  water.  My 
wife  and  the  yougest  boy  visited  the  animals, 
whom  they  found  in  a  pitiable  condition,  near- 
ly perishing  with  hunger  and  thirst.  Fritz 
repaired  to  the  ammunition  room ;  Ernest  to 
the  carpenter's  cabin,  and  Jack  to  the  apart- 


10  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

merit  of  the  captain;  but  scarcejy  Lad  he 
opened  the  door,  when  two  large  dogs  sprang 
upon  him,  and  saluted  him  with  such  rude  af- 
fection, that  he  roared  for  assistance,  as  if 
they  had  been  killing  him.  Hunger,  how- 
ever, had  rendered  the  poor  creatures  so  gen- 
tle, that  they  licked  his  hands  and  face,  utter- 
ing all  the  time  a  low  sort  of  moan,  and  con- 
tinuing the^r  caresses  till  he  was  almost  suffo- 
cated. Poor  Jack  exerted  all  his  strength  in 
blows  to  drive  them  away ;  at  last  he  began 
to  understand,  and  to  sympathize  in  their  joy- 
ful movements,  and  put  himself  upon  another 
footing:  he  got  upon  his  legs;  and  gently 
taking  the  largest  dog  by  the  ears,  sprang 
upon  his  back,  and  with  great  gravity  pre- 
sented himself  thus  mounted  before  me,  as  I 
came  out  of  the  ship's  hold.  I  could  not  re- 
frain from  laughing,  and  I  praised  his  cour- 
age :  but  I  added  a  little  exhortation  to  be 
cautious,  and  not  go  too  far  with  animals  of 
this  species,  who,  in  a  state  of  hunger,  might 
be  dangerous. 

By  and  by  my  little  company  were  again 
assembled  round  me,  and  each  boasted  of 
what  he  had  to  contribute.     Fritz  had  two 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  11 

fowling-pieces,  some  powder,  and  small  shot, 
contained  in  horn  flasks,  and  some  bullets  in 
bags. 

Ernest  produced  his  hat  filled  with  nails, 
and  held  in  his  hands  a  hatchet  and  a  ham- 
mer ;  in  addition,  a  pair  of  pincers,  a  pair  of 
large  scissors,  and  an  auger,  peeped  out  at 
his  pocket-hole. 

Even  the  little  Francis  carried  under  his 
arm  a  box  of  no  very  small  size,  from  which 
he  eagerly  produced  what  he  called  some  lit- 
tle sharp-pointed  hooks.  His  brothers  smiled 
scornfully.  "Vastly  well,  gentlemen,"  said 
I ;  "  but  let  me  tell  you  that  the  youngest  has 
brought  the  most  valuable  prize :  and  this  is 
often  the  case  in  the  world  ;  the  person  who 
least  courts  the  smiles  of  Fortune,  and  in  the 
calm  of  his  heart  is  scarcely  conscious  of  her 
existence,  is  often  he  to  whom  she  most  read- 
ily presents  herself.  These  little  sharp-point- 
ed hooks,  as  Francis  calls  them,  are  fishing- 
hooks,  and  will  probably  be  of  more  use  in 
preserving  our  lives,  than  all  we  may  find  be- 
sides in  the  ship.  In  justice,  however,  I  must 
confess,  that  what  Fritz  and  Ernest  have  con- 
tributed, will  also  afford  essential  service." 


12  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

"I,  for  my  part,"  said  my  wife,  "have 
brought  nothing ;  but  I  have  some  tidings  to 
communicate  which  I  hope  will  secure  my 
welcome :  I  have  found  on  board,  a  cow  and 
an  ass,  two  goats,  six  sheep,  and  a  sow  pig 
with  young :  I  have  just  supplied  them  with 
food  and  water,  and  I  reckon  on  being  able 
to  preserve  their  lives." 

"  All  this  is  admirable,"  said  I  to  my  young 
laborers ;  "and  there  is  only  master  Jack, 
who,  instead  of  thinking  of  something  useful, 
has  done  us  the  favor  to  present  us  two  per- 
sonages, who,  no  doubt,  will  be  principally 
distinguished  by  being  willing  to  eat  more 
than  we  shall  have  to  give  them." 

"Ah!  replied  Jack,  "but  if  we  can  once 
get  to  land,  you  will  see  that  they  will  assist 
us  in  hunting  and 'shooting." 

"  True  enough,"  said  I,  "  but  be  so  good  as 
to  tell  us  how  we  are  to  get  to  land,  and 
whether  you  have  contrived  the  means  ?  " 

"I  am  sure  it  cannot  be  very  difficult," 
said  Jack,  with  an  arch  motion  of  his  head. 
"  Look  here  at  these  large  tubs.  Why  can- 
not each  of  us  get  into  one  of  them,  and  float 
to  the  land  ?     I  remember  I  succeeded  very 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY    ROBINSON.  13 

well  in  this  manner  on  the  water,  when  I  was 
visiting  my  godfather  at  S***." 

"Every  one's  thought  is  good  for  some- 
thing," cried  I,  "and  I  begin  to  believe  that 
what  Jack  has  suggested  is  worth  a  trial : 
quick !  then,  boy,  give  me  the  saw,  the 
auger,  and  some  nails ;  we  will  see  what  is  to 
be  done."  I  recollected  having  seen  some 
empty  casks  in  the  ship's  hold  :  we  went  down, 
and  found  them  floating  in  the  water  which 
had  got  into  the  vessel ;  it  cost  us  but  little 
trouble  to  hoist  them  up,  and  place  them  on 
the  lower  deck,  which  was  at  this  time  scarce- 
ly above  water.  We  saw  with  joy,  that  they 
were  all  sound,  well  guarded  by  iron  hoops, 
and  in  every  respect  in  good  condition  ;  they 
were  exactly  suited  for  the  object ;  and,  with 
the  assistance  of  my  sons,  I  instantly  began 
to  saw  them  in  two.  In  a  short  time  I  had 
produced  eight  tubs,  of  equal  size,  and  of  the 
proper  height.  We  now  allowed  ourselves 
some  refreshment  of  wine  and  biscuit.  I 
viewed  with  delight  my  eight  little  tubs, 
ranged  in  a  line.  I  was  surprised  to  see  that 
my  wife  did  not  partake  our  eagerness ;  she 
sighed  deeply  as  she  looked  at  them:  "Never, 


14  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  EOBINSON. 

never,"  cried  she,  "  can  I  venture  to  get  into 
one  of  these." 

"Do  not  decide  so  hastily,  my  dear,"  said 
I:  "my  plan  is  not  yet  complete;  and  you 
will  see  presently,  that  it  is  more  worthy  of 
our  confidence  than  this  shattered  vessel, 
which  cannot  move  from  its  place." 

I  then  sought  for  a  long  pliant  plank,  and 
placed  my  eight  tubs  upon  it,  leaving  a  piece 
at  each  end,  reaching  beyond  the  tubs ;  which, 
bent  upward,  would  present  an  outline  like 
the  keel  of  a  vessel :  we  next  nailed  all  the 
tubs  to  the  plank,  and  then  the  tubs  to  each 
other,  as  they  stood,  side  by  side,  to  make 
them  the  firmer,  and  afterwards  two  other 
planks,  of  the  same  length  as  the  first,  on 
each  side  of  the  tubs.  When  all  this  was 
finished,  we  found  we  had  produced  a  kind  of 
narrow  boat,  divided  into  eight  compart- 
ments, which  I  had  no  doubt  would  be  able  to 
peform  a  short  course,  in  calm  water. 

But  now  we  discovered  that  the  machine  we 
had  contrived  was  so  heavy,  that  with  the 
strength  of  all  united,  we  were  not  able  to 
move  it  an  inch  from  its  place.  I  bade  Fritz 
fetch  me  a  crow,  who  soon  returned  with  it : 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  15 

in  the  meanwhile,  I  sawed  a  thick  round  pole 
into  several  pieces,  to  make  some  rollers.  I 
then,  with  the  crow,  easily  raised  the  foremost 
part  of  my  machine,  while  Fritz  placed  one 
of  the  rollers  under  it. 

"How  astonishing,"  cried  Ernest,  "that 
this  engine,  which  is  smaller  than  any  of  us, 
can  do  more  than  our  united  strength  was 
able  to  effect !  I  wish  I  could  know  how  it  is 
constructed." 

I  explained  to  him  as  well  as  I  could,  the 
power  of  Archimedes's  lever,  with  which  he 
said  he  could  move  the  world,  if  you  would 
give  him  a  point  from  which  his  mechanism 
might  act,  and  promised  to  explain  the  nature 
of  the  operation  of  the  crow  when  we  should 
be  safe  on  land. 

One  of  the  points  of  my  system  of  educa- 
tion for  my  sons  was,  to  awaken  their  curi- 
osity by  interesting  observations,  to  leave 
time  for  the  activity  of  the  imagination,  and 
then  to  correct  any  error  they  might  fall 
into.  I  contented  myself  now,  however,  with 
this  general  remark,  that  God  sufficiently 
compensated  the  natural  weakness  of  man  by 
the  gifts  of  reason,   of  invention,  and  the 


16  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

adroitness  of  the  hands;  and  that  human 
meditation  and  skill  had  produced  a  science, 
called  mechanics,  the  object  of  which  was, 
to  teach  us  how  to  make  our  own  natural 
strength  act  to  an  incredible  distance,  and 
with  extraordinary  force,  by  the  intervention 
of  instruments. 

Jack  here  remarked,  that  the  action  of  the 
crow  was  very  slow. 

"Better  slow  than  never,  Jack,"  replied  I. 
"  Experience  has  ever  taught,  and  mechanical 
observations  have  established  as  a  princi- 
ple, that  what  is  gained  in  speed,  is  lost  in 
strength :  the  purpose  of  the  crow  is  not  to 
enable  us  to  raise  any  thing  rapidly,  but  to 
raise  what  is  exceedingly  heavy;  and  the 
heavier  the  thing  we  would  move,  the  slower 
is  the  mechanical  operation.  But  are  you 
aware  what  we  have  at  our  command,  to  com- 
pensate this  slowness  ?  " 

"Yes,  it  is  turning  the  handle  quicker?" 

"Your  guess  is  wrong;  that  would  be  no 
compensation ;  the  true  remedy,  my  boy,  is 
to  call  in  the  assistance  of  patience. and  rea- 
son :  with  the  aid  of  these  two  fairy  powers, 
I  am  in  hopes  to  set  my  machine  afloat."     As 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  17 

I  said  this,  I  tied  a  long  cord  to  its  stern,  and 
the  other  end  of  it  to  one  of  the  timbers  of 
the  ship,  which  appeared  to  be  still  firm,  so 
that  the  cord  being  left  loose,  would  serve  to 
guide  and  restrain  it  when  launched.  AVe 
now  put  a  second  and  a  third  roller  under, 
and  applying  the  crow,  to  our  great  joy  our 
machine  descended  into  the  water  with  such 
a  velocity,  that  if  the  rope  had  not  been  well 
fastened,  it  would  have  gone  far  out  to  sea. 
But  now  a  new  difficulty  presented  itself :  the 
boat  leaned  so  much  on  one  side,  that  the 
boys  all  exclaimed  they  could  not  venture  to 
get  into  it.  I  was  for  some  moments  in  tho 
most  painful  perplexity;  but  it  suddenly  oc- 
curred to  me,  that  ballast  only  was  wanting 
to  set  it  straight.  I  drew  it  near,  and  threw 
all  the  useless  things  I  could  find  into  the 
tubs,  so  as  to  make  weight  on  the  light  side : 
by  degrees  the  machine  became  quite  straight 
and  firm  in  the  water,  seeming  to  invite  us  to 
take  refuge  in  its  protection.  All  now  would 
get  into  the  tubs,  and  the  boys  began  to  dis- 
pute which  should  be  first.  I  drew  them 
back,  and  seeking  a  remedy  for  this  kind  of 
obstacle,  I  recollected  that  savage  nations 


18  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

make  use  of  a  paddle  for  preventing  their 
canoes  from  upsetting.  I  once  more  set  to 
work,  to  make  one  of  these. 

I  took  two  poles  of  equal  length,  upon 
which  the  sails  of  the  vessel  had  been  stretch- 
ed, and  having  descended  into  the  machine, 
fixed  one  of  them  at  the  head,  and  the  other 
at  the  stern,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  enable  us 
to  turn  them  at  pleasure  to  right  or  left,  as 
should  best  answer  the  purpose  of  guiding 
and  putting  it  out  to  sea.  I  stuck  the  end  of 
each  pole,  or  paddle,  into  the  bung-hole  of  an 
empty  brandy-keg,  which  served  to  keep  the 
paddles  steady,  and  to  prevent  any  interrup- 
tion in  the  management  of  our  future  enter- 
prise. 

There  remained  nothing  more  to  do,  but  to 
find  in  what  way  I  could  clear  out  from  the 
incumbrance  of  the  wreck.  I  got  into  the 
first  tub,  and  steered  the  head  of  the  machine, 
so  as  to  make  it  enter  the  cleft  in  the  ship's 
side,  where  it  could  remain  quiet.  I  then 
remounted  the  vessel,  and  sometimes  with  the 
saw,  and  sometimes  with  the  hatchet,  I  clear- 
ed away  to  right  and  left,  every  thing  that 
could  obstruct  our  passage ;   and  that  being 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  19 

effected,  we  next  secured  some  oars  for  the 
voyage  we  resolved  on  attempting. 

We  had  spent  the  day  in  laborious  exer- 
tions ;  it  was  already  late ;  and  as  it  would 
not  have  been  possible  to  reach  the  land 
that  evening,  we  were  obliged  to  pass  a  second 
night  in  the  wrecked  vessel,  which  at  every 
instant,  threatened  to  fall  to  pieces.  We 
next  refreshed  ourselves  by  a  regular  meal ; 
for,  during  the  day's  work,  we  had  scarcely 
allowed  ourselves  to  take  a  bit  of  bread,  or  a 
glass  of  wine.  Being  now  in  a  more  tranquil 
and  unapprehensive  state  of  mind  than  the 
day  before,  we  all  abandoned  ourselves  to 
sleep ;  not,  however,  till  I  had  used  the  pre- 
caution of  tying  the  swimming  apparatus 
round  my  three  youngest  boys  and  my  wife, 
in  case  the  storm  should  again  come  on.  I 
also  advised  my  wife  to  dress  herself  in  the 
clothes  of  one  of  the  sailors,  which  were  so 
much  more  convenient  for  smimming,  or  any 
other  exertions  she  might  be  compelled  to 
engage  in.  She  consented,  but  not  without 
reluctance,  and  left  us  to  look  for  some  that 
might  best  suit  her  size.  In  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  she  returned,  dressed  in  the  clothes  of 


20  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

a  young  man  who  had  served  as  volunteer  on 
board  the  ship.  She  could  not  conceal  the 
timid  awkwardness  so  natural  to  her  sex  in 
such  a  situation :  hut  I  soon  found  means  to 
reconcile  her  to  the  change,  by  representing 
the  many  advantages  it  gave  her,  till  at 
length  she  joined  in  the  merriment  her  dress 
occasioned,  and  one  and  all  crept  into  our 
separate  hammocks,  where  a  delicious  repose 
prepared  us  for  the  renewal  of  our  labors. 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  Landing ,  and  consequent   Occupations.  ] 

By  break  of  day  we  were  all  awake  and 
alert,  for  hope  as  well  as  grief  is  unfriendly 
to  lengthened  slumbers.  When  we  had  finish- 
ed our  morning  prayer,  I  said,  "  We  now,  my 
best  beloved,  with  the  assistance  of  Heaven, 
must  enter  upon  the  work  of  our  deliverance. 
The  first  thing  to  be  done,  is  to  give  to  each 
poor  animal  on  board  a  hearty  meal ;  we  will 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  21 

then  put  food  enough  before  them  for  several 
days ;  we  cannot  take  them  with  us ;  but  we 
will  hope  it  may  be  possible,  if  our  voyage 
succeeds,  to  return  and  fetch  them.  Are  you 
now  all  ready  ?  Bring  together  whatever  is 
absolutely  necessary  for  our  wants.  It  is  my 
wish  that  our  first  cargo  shoultl  consist  of  a 
barrel  of  gunpowder,  three  fowling-pieces, 
and  three  carbines,  with  as  much  small  shot 
and  lead,  and  as  many  bullets  as  our  boat  will 
carry ;  two  pair  of  pocket-pistols,  and  one  of 
large  ones,  not  forgetting  a  mould  to  cast 
balls  in ;  each  of  the  boys,  and  their  mother 
also,  should  have  a  bag  to  carry  game  in ; 
you  will  find  plenty  of  these  in  the  cabins  of 
the  officers." — We  added  a  chest  containing 
cakes  of  portable  soup,  another  full  of  hard 
biscuits,  an  iron  pot,  a  fishing-rod,  a  chest  of 
nails,  and  another  of  different  utensils,  such 
as  hammers,  saws,  pincers,  hatchets,  augers, 
&c,  and  lastly,  some  sail-cloth  to  make  a 
tent.  Indeed,  the  boys  brought  so  many 
things,  that  we  were  obliged  to  reject  some 
of  them,  though  I  had  already  exchanged  the 
worthless  ballast  for  articles  of  use  in  the 
question  of  our  subsistence. 


22  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON 

When  all  was  ready,  we  stepped  bravely 
each  into  a  tub.  At  the  moment  of  our  de- 
parture the  cocks  and  hens  began  to  cluck,  as 
if  conscious  that  we  had  deserted  them,  yet 
were  willing  to  bid  us  a  sorrowful  adieu.  This 
suggested  to  me  the  idea  of  taking  the  geese, 
ducks,  fowls,  and  pigeons  with  us  ;  observing 
to  my  wife,  that  if  we  could  not  find  means 
to  feed  them,  at  least  they  would  feed  us. 

We  accordingly  executed  this  plan.  We 
put  ten  hens  and  an  old  and  a  young  cock  into 
one  of  the  tubs,  and  covered  it  with  planks ; 
we  set  the  rest  of  the  poultry  at  liberty,  in  the 
hope  that  instinct  would  direct  them  towards 
the  land,  the  geese  and  the  ducks  by  water, 
and  the  pigeons  by  the  air. 

We  were  waiting  for  my  wife,  who  had  the 
care  of  this  last  part  of  Our  embarkation,  when 
she  joined  us  loaded  with  a  large  bag,  which 
she  threw  into  the  tub  that  already  contained 
her  youngest  son.  I  imagined  that  she  in- 
tended it  for  him  to  sit  upon,  or  perhaps  to 
confine  him  so  as  to  prevent  his  being  tossed 
from  side  to  side.  I  therefore  asked  no  ques- 
tions concerning  it.  The  order  of  our  de- 
parture was  as  follows: 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  23 

In  the  first  tub,  at  the  boat's  head,  rnj  wife, 
the  most  tender  and  exemplary  of  her  sex, 
placed  herself. 

In  the  second,  our  little  Francis,  a  lovely 
boy,  six  years  old,  remarkable  for  the  sweet- 
est and  happiest  temper,  and  for  his  affection 
to  his  parents. 

In  the  third,  Fritz,  our  eldest  boy,  between 
fourteen  and  fifteen  years  of  age,  a  handsome 
curl-pated  youth,  full  of  intelligence  and 
vivacity. 

In  the  fourth  was  the  barrel  of  gunpowder, 
with  the  cocks  and  hens  and  the  sail-cloth. 

In  the  fifth,  the  provisions  of  every  kind. 

In  the  sixth,  our  third  son  Jack,  a  light- 
hearted,  enterprising,  audacious,  generous 
lad,  about  ten  years  old. 

In  the  seventh,  our  second  son  Ernest,  a 
boy  of  twelve  years  old,  of  a  rational,  reflect- 
ing temper,  well  informed  for  his  age,  but 
somewhat  disposed  to  indolence  and  the  plea- 
sures of  the  senses. 

In  the  eighth,  a  father,  to  whose  paternal 
care  the  task  of  guiding  the  machine  for  tho 
safety  of  his  beloved  family  was  intrusted. 
Each  of  us  had   useful  implements  within 


24  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

reach ;  the  hand  of  each  held  an  oar,  and  near 
each  was  a  swimming  apparatus  in  readiness 
for  what  might  happen.  The  tide  was  already 
at  half  its  height  when  we  left  the  ship,  and 
I  had  counted  on  this  circumstance  as  favor- 
able to  our  want  of  strength.  We  held  the 
two  paddles  longways,  and  thus  we  passed 
without  accident  through  the  cleft  of  the 
vessel  into  the  sea.  The  boys  devoured  with 
their  eyes  the  blue  land  they  saw  at  a  dis- 
tance. "We  rowed  with  all  our  strength,  but 
long  in  vain,  to  reach  it ;  the  boat  only  turned 
round  and  round :  at  length  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  steer  in  such  a  way  that  it  pro- 
ceeded in  a  straight  line.  The  two  dogs  per- 
ceiving we  had  abandoned  them,  plunged  into 
the  sea  and  swam  to  the  boat ;  they  were  too 
large  for  us  to  think  of  giving  them  admit- 
tance, and  I  dreaded  lest  they  should  jump  in 
and  upset  us.  Turk  was  an  English  dog,  and 
Flora  a  bitch  of  the  Danish  breed.  I  was  in 
great  uneasiness  on  their  account,  for  I  feared 
it  would  not  be  possible  for  them  to  swim 
so  far.  The  dogs,  however,  managed  the 
affair  with  perfect  intelligence.  When  fa- 
tigued, they  rested  their  fore-paws  on  one 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  25 

of  the  paddles,  and  thus  with  little  effort  pro- 
ceeded. 

Jack  was  disposed  to  refuse  them  this  ac- 
commodation, but  he  soon  yielded  to  my 
argument,  that  it  was  cruel  and  unwise  to 
neglect  creatures  thrown  on  our  protection, 
and  who  indeed  might  hereafter  protect  us  in 
their  turn,  by  guarding  us  from  harm,  and 
assisting  in  our  pursuit  of  animals  for  food. 
"  Besides,"  added  I,  "  God  has  given  the  dog 
to  man  to  be  his  faithful  companion  and 
friend." 

Our  voyage  proceeded  securely,  though 
slowly  {  but  the  nearer  we  approached  the 
land,  the  more  gloomy  and  unpromising  its 
aspect  appeared.  The  coast  was  clothed  with 
barren  rocks,  which  seemed  to  offer  nothing 
but  hunger  and  distress.  The  sea  was  calm ; 
the  waves,  gently  agitated,  washed  the  shore, 
and  the  sky  was  serene ;  in  every  direction 
we  perceived  casks,  bales,  chests,  and  other 
vestiges  of  shipwrecks,  floating  round  us.  In 
the  hope  of  obtaining  some  good  provisions, 
I  determined  on  endeavoring  to  secure  some 
of  the  casks.  I  bade  Fritz  have  a  rope,  a 
^ammer,  and  some  nails  ready,   and  to  try 


26  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

to  sieze  them  as  we  passed.  He  succeeded 
in  laying  hold  of  two,  and  in  such  a  way 
that  we  could  draw  them  after  us  to  the  shore. 
Now  that  we  were  close  on  land,  its  rude  out- 
line was  much  softened ;  the  rocks  no  longer 
appeared  one  undivided  chain  ;  Fritz  with  his 
hawk's  eye  already  descried  some  trees,  and 
exclaimed  that  they  were  palm-trees.  Ernest 
expressed  his  joy  that  he  should  now  get 
much  larger  and  better  cocoa  nuts  than  those 
of  Europe.  I,  for  my  part,  was  venting  au- 
dibly my  regret,  that  I  had  not  thought  of 
bringing  a  telescope  that  I  knew  was  in  the 
captain's  cabin,  when  Jack  drew  a  small  one 
from  his  pocket,  and  with  a  look  of  triumph 
presented  it  to  me. 

The  acquisition  of  the  telescope  was  of 
great  importance  ;  for  with  its  aid  I  was  able 
to  make  the  necessary  observations,  and  was 
more  sure  of  the  route  I  ought  to  take.  On 
applying  it  to  my  eye,  I  remarked  that  the 
shore  before  us  had  a  desert  and  savage  as- 
pect, but  that  towards  the  left  the  scene  was 
more  agreeable  ;  but  when  I  attempted  to 
steer  in  that  direction,  a  current  carried  me 
irresistibly  towards  the  coast  that  was  rocky 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  27 

and  barren.  By  and  by  we  perceived  a  little 
opening  between  the  rocks,  near  the  mouth 
of  a  creek,  towards  which  all  our  geese  and 
ducks  betook  themselves ;  and  I,  relying  on 
their  sagacity,  followed  in  the  same  course. 
This  opening  formed  a  little  bay ;  the  water 
was  tranquil,  and  neither  too  deep  nor  too 
shallow  to  receive  our  boat.  I  entered  it, 
and  cautiously  put  on  shore  on  a  spot  where 
the  coast  was  about  the  same  height  above 
the  water  as  our  tubs,  and  where,  at  the  same 
time,  there  was  a  quantity  sufficient  to  keep 
us  afloat.  The  shore  extended  inland  in  some- 
thing of  the  form  of  an  isosceles  triangle,  the 
upper  angle  of  which  terminated  among  the 
rocks,  while  the  margin  of  the  sea  formed  the 
basis. 

All  that  had  life  in  the  boat  jumped  eagerly 
on  land.  Even  little  Francis  who  had  been 
wTedged  in  his  tub  like  a  potted  herring,  now 
got  up  and  sprang  forward ;  but,  with  all  his 
efforts,  he  could  not  succeed  without  his 
mother's  help.  The  dogs,  who  had  swam  on 
shore,  received  us  as  if  appointed  to  do  the 
honors  of  the  place,  jumping  round  us  with 
every  demonstration  of  joy :  the  geese  kept 


28  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

up  a  loud  cackling,  to  which  the  ducks,  from 
their  broad  yellow  beaks,  contributed  a  per- 
petual thorough-bass:  the  cocks  and  hens, 
which  we  had  already  set  at  liberty,  clucked  : 
the  boys  chattering  all  at  once,  produced  al- 
together an  overpowering  confusion  of  sounds  : 
to  this  was  added  the  disagreeable  scream  of 
some  penguins  and  flamingos,  which  we  now 
perceived,  some  flying  over  our  heads,  others 
sitting  on  the  points  of  the  rocks  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  ha/.  By  and  by  the  notes  of 
the  latter  had  the  ascendant,  from  their  num- 
bers ;  and  our  annoyance  was  increased  by  a 
comparison  we  could  not  avoid  making,  be- 
tween the  sounds  they  uttered,  and  the  har- 
mony of  the  feathered  musicians  of  our  own 
country.  I  had  however  one  advantage  in 
perspective  ; — it  was  that,  should  we  hereafter 
be  short  of  food,  these  very  birds  might  serve 
for  our  subsistence. 

The  first  thing  we  did  on  finding  ourselves 
safe  on  terra  fir  ma,  was  to  fall  on  our  knees, 
and  return  thanks  to  the  Supreme  Being  who 
had  preserved  our  lives,  and  to  recommend 
ourselves  with  entire  resignation  to  the  care 
of  his  paternal  kindness. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  29 

We  next  employed  our  whole  attention  in 
unloading  the  boat.  Oh  !  how  rich  we  thought 
ourselves  in  the  little  we  had  been  able  to 
rescue  from  the  merciless  abyss  of  waters  ! 
We  looked  about  for  a  convenient  place  to 
set  up  a  tent  under  the  shade  of  the  rocks ; 
and  having  all  consulted  and  agreed  upon  a 
place,  we  set  to  work.  We  drove  one  of  our 
poles  firmly  into  a  fissure  of  the  rock ;  this 
rested  upon  another  pole,  which  was  driven 
perpendicularly  into  the  ground,  and  formed 
the  ridge  of  our  tent.  A  frame  for  a  duel- 
ling was  thus  made  secure.  We  next  threw 
some  sail-cloth  over  the  ridge,  and  stretching 
it  to  a  convenient  distance  on  each  side,  fast- 
ened its  extremities  to  the  ground  vrith  stakes. 
Lastly,  I  fixed  some  tenter-hooks  along  the 
edge  of  one  side  of  the  sail-cloth  in  front,  that 
we  might  be  able  to  enclose  the  entrance 
during  night,  by  hooking  in  the  opposite 
edge.  The  chest  of  provisions  and  other 
heavy  matters  we  had  left  on  the  shore.  The 
next  thing  was  to  desire  my  sons  to  look 
about  for  grass  and  moss,  to  be  spread  and 
dried  in  the  sun,  to  serve  us  for  beds.  Dur- 
ing this  occupation,  in  which  even  the  little 


30  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

Francis  could  take  a  share,  I  erected  near 
the  tent  a  kind  of  little  kitchen.  A  few  flat 
stones,  I  found  in  the  bed  of  a  fresh-water 
river,  served  for  a  hearth.  I  got  a  quantity 
of  dry  branches ;  with  the  largest  I  made  a 
small  enclosure  round  it ;  and  with  the  little 
twigs,  added  to  some  of  our  turf,  I  made  a 
brisk  cheering  fire.  We  put  some  of  the  soup- 
cakes,  with  water,  into  our  iron  pot,  and 
placed  it  over  the  flame ;  and  my  wife,  with 
her  little  Francis  for  a  scullion,  took  charge 
of  preparing  the  dinner. 

In  the  mean  while  Fritz  had  been  reload- 
ing the  guns,  with  one  of  which  he  had  wan- 
dered along  the  side  of  the  river.  He  had 
proposed  to  Ernest,  to  accompany  him ;  but 
Ernest  replied,  that  he  did  not  like  a  rough, 
stony  walk,  and  that  he  should  go  to  the  sea 
shore.  Jack  took  the  road  towards  a  chain 
of  rocks  which  jutted  out  into  the  sea,  with 
the  intention  of  gathering  some  of  the  mus- 
cles which  grew  upon  them. 

My  own  occupation  was  now  an  endeavor 
to  draw  the  two  floating  casks  on  shore,  but 
in  which  I  could  not  succeed ;  for  our  place 
of  landing,  though  convenient  enough  for  our 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY    ROBINSON.  31 

machine,  was  too  steep  for  the  casks.  While 
I  was  looking  about  to  find  a  more  favorable 
spot,  I  heard  loud  cries  proceeding  from  a 
short  distance,  and  recognized  the  voice  of 
my  son  Jack.  I  snatched  my  hatchet,  and 
ran  anxiously  to  his  assistance.  I  soon  per- 
ceived him  up  to  his  knees  in  water  in  a  shal- 
low, and  that  a  large  sea  lobster  had  fastened 
its  claws  in  his  leg.  The  poor  boy  screamed 
pitiably,  and  made  useless  efforts  to  disen- 
gage himself.  I  jumped  instantly  into  the 
water ;  and  the  enemy  was  no  sooner  sensi- 
ble of  my  approach,  than  he  let  go  his  hold, 
and  would  have  scampered  out  to  sea,  but 
that  I  indulged  the  fancy  of  a  little  malice 
against  him  for  the  alarm  he  had  caused  us. 
I  turned  quickly  upon  him,  and  took  him  up 
by  the  body  and  carried  him  off,  followed  by 
Jack,  who  shouted  our  triumph  all  the  way. 
He  begged  me  at  last  to  let  him  hold  the  an- 
imal in  his  own  hand,  that  he  might  himself 
present  so  fine  a  booty  to  his  mother.  Ac- 
cordingly, having  observed  how  I  held  it  to 
avoid  the  gripe,  he  laid  his  own  hand  upon  it 
in  exactly  the  same  manner ;  but  scarcely 
had  he  grasped  it,  than  he  received  a  violent 


32  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

blow  on  the  face  from  the  lobster's  tail,  which 
made  him  loose  his  hold,  and  the  animal  fell 
to  the  ground.  Jack  again  began  to  bawl 
out,  while  I  could  not  refrain  from  laughing 
heartily.  In  his  rage  he  took  up  a  stone 
and  killed  the  lobster  with  a  single  blow.  I 
was  a  little  vexed  at  this  conclusion  to  the 
scene.  "  This  is  what  we  call  killing  an  en- 
emy  when  he  is  unable  to  defend  himself, 
Jack ;  it  was  wrong  to  revenge  an  injury 
while  we  are  in  a  state  of  anger ;  the  lobster, 
it  is  true,  had  given  you  a  bite ;  but  then  you, 
on  your  part,  would  have  eaten  the  lobster. 
So  the  game  was  at  least  equal.  Another 
time,  I  advise  you  to  be  both  more  prudent 
and  more  merciful."  "But  pray,  father,  let 
me  carry  it  to  my  mother,"- said  Jack,  fear- 
less now  of  further  warfare  ;  and  accordingly 
he  carried  it  to  the  kitchen,  triumphantly  ex- 
claiming, "  Mother,  mother,  a  sea  lobster  ! — 
Ernest,  a  sea  lobster !  Where  is  Fritz  ? 
Where  is  Fritz?  Take  care,  Francis,  he 
will  bite  you."  In  a  moment  all  wTere  round 
him  to  examine  the  wonderful  creature,  and 
all  proclaimed  their  astonishment  at  his  enor- 
mous size,  while  they  observed  that  its  form 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  S3 

was  precisely  that  of  the  common  lobster  so 
much  in  use  in  Europe. 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  Jack,  holding  up  one  of 
the  claws;  "you  may  well  wonder  at  his 
size  :  this  was  the  frightful  claw  which  seized 
my  leg,  and  if  I  had  not  had  on  my  thick  sea 
pantaloons,  he  would  have  bit  it  through 
and  through ;  but  I  have  taught  him  what  it 
is  to  attack  me  ;  I  have  paid  him  well." 

"Oh,  oh!  Mr.  Boaster,"  cried  I,  "you 
give  a  pretty  account  of  the  matter.  Now 
mine  would  be,  that  if  I  had  not  been  near, 
the  lobster  would  have  shown  you  another  sort 
of  game ;  for  the  slap  he  gave  you  in  the  face 
compelled  you,  I  think,  to  let  go  your  hold. 
And  it  is  well  it  should  be  thus;  for  he 
fought  with  the  arms  with  which  nature  had 
supplied  him,  but  you  had  recourse  to  a  great 
stone  for  your  defense.  Believe  me,  Jack, 
you  have  no  great  reason  to  boast  of  the  ad- 
venture." 

Ernest,  ever  prompted  by  his  savory  tooth, 
bawled  out  that  the  lobster  had  better  be 
put  into  the  soup,  which  would  give  it  an  ex- 
cellent flavor  :  but  this  his  mother  opposed, 
observing,  that  we  must  be  more  economical 


34  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

of  our  provisions  than  that,  for  the  lobster  of 
itself  would  furnish  a  dinner  for  the  whole 
family.  I  now  left  them  and  walked  again 
to  the  scene  of  this  adventure,  and  examined 
the  shallow:  I  then  made  another  attempt 
upon  my  two  casks,  and  at  length  succeeded 
in  getting  them  into  it,  and  in  fixing  them 
there  securely  on  their  bottoms. 

On  my  return,  I  complimented  Jack  on  his 
being  the  first  to  procure  an  animal  that 
might  serve  for  subsistence,  and  promised  him, 
for  his  own  share,  the  famous  claw,  which  had 
furnished  us  with  so  lively  a  discussion. 

"  Ah  !  but  I  have  seen  something  too,  that 
is  good  to  eat,"  said  Ernest ;  "  and  I  should 
have  got  it  if  it  had  not  been  in  the  water,  so 
that  I  must  have  wetted  my  feet " 

"  Oh,  that  is  a  famous  story,"  cried  Jack : 
"  I  can  tell  you  what  he  saw, — some  nasty 
muscles :  why,  I  would  not  eat  one  of  them 
for  the  world. — Think  of  my  lobster  !  " 

"  That  is  not  true,  Jack ;  for  they  were 
oysters,  and  not  muscles  that  I  saw :  I  am 
sure  of  it,  for  they  stuck  to  the  rock,  and  I 
know  they  must  be  oysters." 

"Fortunate  enough,  my  dainty  gentleman," 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  35 

interrupted  I,  addressing  myself  to  Ernest ; 
"since  you  are  so  well  acquainted  with,  the 
place  where  such  food  can  be  found,  you  will 
be  so  obliging  as  to  return  and  procure  us 
some.  In  such  a  situation  as  ours,'  every 
member  of  the  family  must  be  actively  em- 
ployed for  the  common  good ;  and  above  all 
none  must  be  afraid  of  so  trifling  an  incon- 
venience as  wet  feet." 

"  I  will  do  my  best,  with  all  my  heart," 
answered  Ernest;  "and  at  the  same  time  I 
will  bring  home  some  salt,  of  which  I  have 
seen  immense  quantities  in  the  holes  of  the 
rocks,  where  I  have  reason  to  suppose  it  is 
dried  by  the  sun.  I  tasted  some  of  it,  and  it 
was  excellent.  Pray,  father,  be  so  good  as 
to  inform  me  whether  this  salt  was  not  left 
there  by  the  sea?  " 

" — No  doubt  it  was,  Mr.  Reasoner,  for 
where  else  do  you  think  it  could  come  from  ? 
You  would  have  done  more  wisely  if  you  had 
brought  us  a  bag  of  it,  instead  of  spending 
your  time  in  profound  reflections  upon  oper- 
ations so  simple  and  obvious ;  and  if  you  do 
not  wish  to  dine  upon  a  soup  without  flavor, 
you  had  better  run  and  fetch  a  little  quickly." 


36  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

1^  set  off,  and  soon  returned :  what  he 
brought  had  the  appearance  of  sea-salt,  but 
was  so  mixed  with  earth  and  sand,  that  I  was 
on  the  point  of  throwing  it  away ;  but  my 
wife  prevented  me,  and  by  dissolving,  and 
afterwards  filtering  some  of  it  through  a 
piece  of  muslin,  we  found  it  admirably  fit  for 
use. 

"  Why  could  we  not  have  used  some  sea- 
water,"  asked  Jack,  "instead  of  having  all 
this  trouble?" 

"Sea-water,"  answered  I,  "is  more  bitter 
than  salt,  and  has,  besides,  a  sickly  taste." 
While  I  was  speaking,  my  wife  tasted  the 
soup  with  a  little  stick  with  which  she  had 
been  stirring  it,  and  pronounced  that  it  was 
all  the  better  for  the  salt,  and  now  quite 
ready.  "But,"  said  she,  "Fritz  is  not  come 
in.  And  then  how  shall  we  manage  to  eat 
our  soup  without  spoons  or  dishes  ?  Why 
did  we  not  remember  to  bring  some  from  the 
ship  ?  "  Because,  my  dear,  one  cannot  think 
of  every  thing  at  once.  "We  shall  be  lucky 
if  we  have  not  forgotten  even  more  import- 
ant things. — "But  indeed,"  said  she,  "this 
is   a  matter  which  cannot   easily  be  set  to 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  37 

rights.  How  will  it  be  possible  for  each  of 
us  to  raise  this  large  boiling  pot  to  his  Irfta  ?  " 

I  soon  saw  that  my  wife  was  right.  We  all 
cast  our  eyes  upon  the  pot  with  a  sort  of  stu- 
pid perplexity,  and  looked  a  little  like  the  fox 
in  the  fable,  when  the  stork  desires  him  to 
help  himself  from  a  vessel  with  a  long  neck. 
Silence  was  at  length  broken,  by  all  bursting 
into  a  hearty  laugh  at  our  want  of  every  kind 
of  utensil,  and  at  the  thought  of  our  own  folly, 
in  not  recollecting  that  spoons  and  forks 
were  things  of  absolute  necessity. 

Ernest  observed,  that  if  we  could  but  get 
some  of  the  nice  cocoa-nuts  he  often  thought 
about,  we  might  empty  them,  and  use  the 
pieces  of  the  shells  for  spoons. 

"Yes,  yes,"  replied  I;  u if  toe  could  but 
get, — but  we  have  them  not ;  and  if  wishing 
were  to  any  purpose,  I  had  as  soon  wish  at 
once  for  a  dozen  silver  spoons ;  but  alas  !  of 
what  use  is  wishing  ?  " 

"But  at. least,"  said  the  boy,  "we  can  use 
some  oyster-shells  for  spoons." 

"Why,  this  is  well,  Ernest,"  said  I;  "and 
is  what  I  call  a  useful  thought.  Run  then 
quickly  for  some  of  them.      But,  gentlemen, 


38  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

I  give  you  notice,  that  no  one  of  you  must 
give*hirnself  airs  because  his  spoon  is  without 
a  handle,  or  though  he  chance  to  grease  his 
fingers  in  the  soup." 

Jack  ran  first,  and  was  up  to  his  knees  in 
the  water  before  Ernest  could  reach  the  place. 
Jack  tore  oif  the  fish  with  eagerness,  and 
threw  them  to  slothful  Ernest,  who  put  them 
into  his  handkerchief,  having  first  secured  in 
his  pocket  one  shell  he  had  met  with  of  a  large 
size.  The  boys  came  back  together  with 
their  booty. 

Fritz  not  having  yet  returned,  his  mother 
was  beginning  to  be  uneasy,  when  we  heard 
him  shouting  to  us  from  a  small  distance,  to 
which  we  answered  by  similar  sounds.  In  a 
few  minutes  he  wTas  among  us,  his  two  hands 
behind  him,  and  with  a  sort  of  would-be- 
melancholy  air,  which  none  of  us  could  well 
understand. —  "  What  have  you  brought?" 
asked  his  brothers  ;  "  let  us  see  your  booty, 
and  you  shall  see  ours."  —  "Ah !  I  have  un- 
fortunately nothing."  —  "What!  nothing  at 
all?"  said  I.  — "Nothing  at  all,"  answered 
he.  But  now,  on  fixing  my  eye  upon  him,  I 
perceived  a  smile  of  proud  success  -through 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  39 

his  assumed  dissatisfaction.  At  the  same  in- 
stant Jack,  having  stolen  behind  hin^*  ex- 
claimed, "A  sucking  pig!  a  sucking  pig!" 
Fritz,  finding  his  trick  discovered,  now  proud- 
ly displayed  his  prize,  which  I  immediately 
perceived,  from  the  description  I  had  read  in 
different  books  of  travels,  was  an  agouti,  an 
animal  common  in  that  country,  and  not  a 
sucking  pig,  as  the  boys  had  supposed.  "  The 
agouti,"  says  M.  de  Courtills,  in  his  voyage  to 
St.  Domingo,  "is  of  the  size  of  a  hare,  and 
runs  with  the  same  swiftness ;  but  its  form  is 
more  like  the  pig,  and  he  makes  the  same 
grunting  noise.  He  is  not  a  voracious  animal, 
but  is  nice  in  the  choice  of  his  food.  "When 
his  appetite  is  satiated,  he  buries  what  re- 
mains, an 4.  keeps  it  for  another  time.  He  is 
naturally  of  a  gentle  temper;  but  if  pro- 
voked, his  hair  becomes  erect,  he  bites,  and 
strikes  the  ground  with  his  hind  feet  like  the 
rabbit,  which  he  also  resembles  in  digging 

7  coo 

himself  a  burrow  under  ground  :  but  this  bur- 
row has  but  one  entrance  ;  he  conceals  him- 
self in  it  during  the  hottest  part  of  the  thy, 
taking  care  to  provide  himself  with  a  store  of 
patates  and  bananas.     He  is  usually  taken  by 


40  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

coursing,  and  sometimes  by  dogs,  or  with  nets. 
When  it  is  found  difficult  to  seize  him,  the 
sportsman  has  only  to  whistle.  As  soon  as 
the  agouti  hears  the  sound,  he  is  instantly 
still,  remains  resting  on  his  hind  feet,  and 
suffers  himself  to  be  taken.  His  flesh  is 
white,  like  that  of  the  rabbit ;  but  it  is  dry, 
has  no  fat,  and  never  entirely  loses  a  certain 
wild  flavor,  which  is  disagreeable  to  Euro- 
peans. He  is  held  in  great  esteem  by  the 
natives,  particularly  when  the  animal  has 
been  feeding  near  the  sea  on  plants  impreg- 
nated with  salt.  They  are  therefore  caught 
in  great  numbers,  and  for  this  reason  the 
species  is  much  diminished."  —  "Where  did 
you  find  him  ?  How  did  you  get  at  him  ? 
Did  he  make  you  run  a  great  way  ? "  asked  ail 
at  once  the  young  brothers.  "  TeTi  me,  tell 
us  all  .  .  .  ."  &c.  I,  for  my  part,  assumed  a 
somewhat  serious  tone.  —  "I  should  have 
preferred,"  observed  I,  "that  you  had  in 
reality  brought  us  nothing,  to  your  asserting 
a  falsehood.  Never  allow  yourself,  even  in 
jest,  my  dear  boy,  to  assert  what  you  know 
to  be  an  untruth.  By  such  trifles  as  these,  a 
habit  of  lying,  the  most  disgusting  of  vices, 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  41 

may  be  induced.  Now  then  that  I  have  given 
you  this  caution,  let  us  look  at  the  animal. 
Where  did  you  find  it  ? " 

Fritz  related,  that  he  had  passed  over  to 
the  other  side  of  the  river.  "Ah  !"  contin- 
ued he,  "  it  is  quite  another  thing  from  this 
place ;  the  shore  is  low  and  you  can  have  no 
notion  of  the  quantity  of  casks,  chests,  and 
planks,  and  different  sorts  of  things  washed 
there  by  the  sea.  Ought  we  not  to  go  and 
try  to  obtain  some  of  these  treasures?"  — 
"We  will  consider  of  it  soon,"  answered  I, 
"but  first  we  have  to  make  our  voyage  to  the 
vessel,  and  fetch  away  the  animals ;  at  least 
you  will  all  agree,  that  of  the  cow  we  are 
pretty  much  in  Avant."  —  "  If  our  biscuit  were 
soaked  la.  milk,  it  would  not  be  so  hard,"  ob- 
served our  dainty  Ernest.  —  "I  must  tell  you 
too,"  continued  Fritz,  "that  over  on  the  other 
side  there  is  as  much  grass  for  pasturage  as 
we  can  desire ;  and,  besides,  a  pretty  wood, 
in  the  shade  of  which  we  could  repose.  Why 
then  should  we  remain  on  this  barren  desert 
side?"  —  "Patience,"  replied  I,  "there  is  a 
time  for  every  thing,  friend  Fritz ;  we  sh ail- 
not  be  without  something  to  undertake  to- 

4 


42  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

morrow,  and  even  after  to-morrow.  But, 
above  all,  I  am  eager  to  know  if  you  discov- 
ered, in  your  excursion,  any  traces  of  our  ship 
companions?"  —  "Not  the  smallest  trace  of 
man,  dead  or  alive,  on  land  or  water ;  but  I 
have  seen  some  other  animals,  that  more  re- 
sembled pigs  than  the  one  I  have  brought 
you,  but  with  feet  more  like  those  of  the  hare ; 
the  animal  I  am  speaking  of  leaps  from  place 
to  place ;  now  sitting  on  his  hind  legs,  rubbing 
his  face  with  his  front  feet,  and  then  seeking 
for  roots,  and  gnawing  them  like  the  squirrel. 
If  I  had  not  been  afraid  of  his  escaping  me, 
I  should  have  tried  to  catch  him  with  my 
hands,  for  he  appeared  almost  tame." 
i  We  had  now  notice  that  our  soup  was  ready, 
and  each  hastened  to  dip  his  shell  jjito  the 
pot,  to  get  out  a  little  ;  but,  as  I  had  foreseen, 
each  drew  out  a  scalded  finger,  and  it  was 
who  could  scream  the  loudest.  Ernest  was 
the  only  one  who  had  been  too  cautious  to  ex- 
pose himself  to  this  misfortune :  he  quietly 
took  his  muscle-shell,  as  large  and  deep  as  a 
small  saucer,  from  his  pocket,  and  carefully 
dipping  it  into  the  pot,  drew  it  out,  filled  with 
as  much  soup  as  was  his  fair  share,  and  cast- 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  43 

ing  a  look  of  exultation  on  his  brothers,  he  set 
it  down  till  it  should  be  cold  enough  to  eat. 

"  You  have  taken  good  care  of  yourself,  I 
perceive,"  said  I.  "But  now  answer  me, 
dear  boy,  is  the  advantage  worth  the  pains 
you  take  to  be  better  off  than  your  compan- 
ions ?  Yet  this  is  the  opistant  failing  of  your 
character.  As  your  best  friend,  I  feel  it  my 
duty  to  balk  you  of  the  expected  prize ;  I 
therefore  adjudge  your  dish  of  delicious  soup 
to  our  faithful  followers,  Turk  and  Flora. 
For  ourselves,  we  will  all  fare  alike ;  we  will 
simply  dip  our  shells  into  the  pot  till  hunger 
is  appeased  ;  but  the  picked  dish  for  the  dogs, 
Ernest ;  and  all  the  rest  alike  !  " 

This  gentle  reproach  sunk,  I  perceived, 
into  his  heart ;  he  placed  the  shell,  filled  with 
soup,  upon  the  ground,  and  in  an  instant  the 
dogs  had  licked  up  every  drop.  We  on  our 
parts  were  as  sharp  set  as  they,  and  every  eye 
was  fixed  on  the  pot,  watching  for  the  steam 
to  subside  a  little,  that  we  might  begin  dip- 
ping ;  when,  on  looking  round,  we  saw  Turk 
and  Flora  standing  over  the  agouti,  gnawing 
and  tearing  him  fiercely  with  their  teeth  and 
paws.    The  boys  all  screamed  together :  Fritz 


44  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

seized  his  gun,  and  struck  them  with  it ;  call- 
ed them  the  unldndest  names,  threw  stones  at 
them ;  and  was  so  furious,  that  if  I  had  not 
interfered,  it  is  probable  he  would  have  killed 
them.  He  had  already  bent  his  gun  with  the 
blows  he  had  given  them,  and  his  voice  was 
raised  so  high  as  toJpe  re-echoed  from  the 
rocks. 

When  he  had  grown  a  little  cool,  I  seriously 
remonstrated  with  him  on  his  violence  of 
temper.  I  represented  to  him  what  distress 
he  had  occasioned  his  mother  and  myself  for 
the  event  of  rage  so  alarming :  that  his  gun, 
which  might  have  been  so  useful,  was  now 
spoiled;  and  that  the  poor  animals,  upon 
whose  assistance  we  should  probably  so  much 
depend,  he  had,  no  doubt,  greatly  injured: 
"Anger,"  continued  I,  "is  always  a  bad 
counselor,  and  may  even  lead  the  way  to 
crimes :  you  are  not  ignorant  of  the  history 
of  Cain,  who,  in  a  moment  of  violent  anger, 
killed  his  brother."  —  "Say  no  more,  my 
dearest  father,"  interrupted  Fritz,  in  a  tone 
of  horror.  —  "Happy  am  I  to  recollect  on 
this  occasion,"  resumed  I,  "  that  it  was  not 
human  creatures  you  treated  thus.     But  an 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  45 

angry  person  never  reasons ;  he  scarcely 
knows  whom  he  attacks.  The  most  convinc- 
ing proof  of  this  is,  that  you  just  now  fell 
upon  two  dumb  animals,  incapable  of  judg- 
ment, and  who  most  likely  thought  that  your 
agouti  was  placed  there,  as  the  soup  had  been 
before,  for  them  to  eat-  Confess,  too,  that  it 
was  vanity  which  excited  the  furious  temper 
you  exhibited.  If  another  than  yourself  had 
killed  the  agouti,  you  would  have  been  more 
patient  under  the  accident."  Fritz  agreed 
that  I  was  right,  and,  half  drowned  in  tears, 
entreated  my  forgiveness. 

Soon  after  we  had  taken  our  meal,  the  sun 
began  to  sink  into  the  west.  Our  little  flock 
of  fowls  assembled  round  us,  pecking  here 
and  there  what  morsels  of  our  biscuit  had  fal- 
len, on  the  ground.  Just  at  this  moment  my 
wife  produced  the  bag  she  had  so  mysteriously 
huddled  into  the  tub.  Its  mouth  was  now 
opened ;  it  contained  the  various  sorts  of 
grain  for  feeding  poultry  —  barley,  peas,  oats, 
&c,  and  also  different  kinds  of  seeds  and 
roots  of  vegetables  for  the  table.  In  the  ful- 
ness of  her  kind  heart  she  scattered  several 
handfuls  at  once  upon  the  ground,  which  the 


46  THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

fowls  began  eagerly  to  seize.  I  compliment- 
ed her  on  the  benefits  her  foresight  had  se- 
cured for  us ;  but  I  recommended  a  more 
sparing  use  of  so  valuable  an  acquisition,  ob- 
serving, that  the  grain,  if  kept  for  sowing, 
would  produce  a  harvest,  and  that  we  could 
fetch  from  the  ship  spoiled  biscuit  enough  to 
feed  the  fowls.  Ouf  pigeons  sought  a  roost- 
ing place  among  the  rocks ;  the  hens,  with 
the  two  cocks  at  their  head,  ranged  them- 
selves in  a  line  along  the  bridge  of  the  tent ; 
and  the  geese  and  ducks  betook  themselves  in 
a  body,  cackling  and  quacking  as  they  pro- 
ceeded, to  a  marshy  bit  of  ground  near  the 
sea,  where  some  thick  bushes  afforded  them 
shelter. 

A  little  later,  we  began  to  follow  the  ex- 
ample of  our  winged  companions,  by  begin- 
ning our  preparations  for  repose.  First,  we 
loaded  our  guns  and  pistols,  and  laid  them 
carefully  in  the  tent:  next,  we  assembled 
together  and  joined  in  offering  up  our  thanks 
to  the  Almighty  for  the  succor  afforded  us, 
and  supplicating  his  watchful  care  for  our 
preservation.  With  the  last  ray  of  the  sun 
we  entered  our  tent,  and  after  drawing  the 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  47 

sail-cloth  over  the  hooks  to  close  the  entrance, 
we  laid  ourselves  down  close  to  each  other  on 
the  grass  and  moss  we  had  collected  in  the 
morning. 

The  children  observed,  with  surprise,  that 
darkness  came  upon  us  all  at  once  ;  that  night 
succeeded  to  day  without  an  intermediate 
twilight.  — "  This,"  replied  I,  "makes  me 
suspect  that  we  are  not  far  from  the  equator, 
or  at  least  between  the  tropics,  where  this  is 
of  ordinary  occurrence ;  for  the  twilight  is 
occasioned  by  the  rays  of  the  sun  being  bro- 
ken in  the  atmosphere ;  the  more  obliquely 
they  fall,  the  more  their  feeble  light  is  ex- 
tended and  prolonged ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  more  perpendicular  the  rays,  the  less 
their  declination :  consequently  the  change 
from  day  to  night  is  much  more  sudden  when 
the  sun  is  under  the  horizon. 

I  looked  once  more  out  of  the  tent  to  see 
if  all  was  quiet  around  us.  The  old  cock, 
awaking  at  the  rising  of  the  moon,  chanted 
our.  vespers,  and  then  I  lay  down  to  sleep.  In 
proportion  as  we  had  been  during  the  day  op- 
pressed with  heat,  we  were  now  in  the  night 
inconvenienced  by  the  cold,  so  that  we  clung 


48  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

to  each  other  for  warmth.  A  sweet  sleep  be- 
gan to  close  the  eyes  of  my  beloved  family ; 
I  endeavored  to  keep  awake  till  I  was  sure 
my  wife's  solicitude  had  yielded  to  the  same 
happy  state,  and  then  I  closed  my  own. 
Thanks  to  the  fatigue  we  had  undergone,  our 
first  night  in  the  desert  island  was  very  toler- 
ably comfortable. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Voyage  of  Discovery. 

I  WAS  roused  at  the  dawn  of  day  by  the 
crowing  of  the  cocks.  I  awoke  my  wife,  and 
we  consulted  together  as  to  the  occupations 
we  should  engage  in.  We  agreed,  that  we 
would  seek  for  traces  of  our  late  ship  compan- 
ions, and  at  the  same  time  examine  the  nature 
of  the  soil  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  be- 
fore we  determined  on  a  fixed  place  of  abode. 
My  wife  easily  perceived  that  such  an  excur- 
sion could  not  be  undertaken  by  all  the  mem- 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY    ROBINSON.  49 

bers  of  the  family ;  and  full  of  confidence  In 
the  protection  of  Heaven,  she  courageously 
consented  to  my  proposal  of  leaving  her  with 
the  three  youngest  boys,  and  proceeding  my- 
self with  Fritz  on  a  journey  of  discovery.  I 
entreated  her  not  to  loose  a  moment  in  giving 
us  our  breakfast.  She  gave  us  notice  that 
the  share  of  each  would-be  but  small,  there 
being  no  more  soup  prepared.  —  "What 
then,"  I  asked,  "is  to  become  of  Jack's  lob- 
ster?"—  "That  he  can  best  tell  you  him- 
self," answered  his  mother.  "But  now  pray 
step  and  awake  the  boys,  while  I  make  a  fire 
and  put  on  some  water." 

The  children  were  soon  roused ;  even  our 
slothful  Ernest  submitted  to  the  hard  fate  of 
rising  so  early  in  the  morning.  When  I  asked 
Jack  for  his  lobster,  he  ran  and  fetched  it 
from  a  cleft  in  the  rock,  in  which  he  had  con- 
cealed it :  "I  was  determined,"  said  he,  "  that 
the  dogs  should  not  treat  my  lobster  as  they 
did  the  agouti,  for  I  knew  them  for  a  sort  of 
gentlemen  to  whom  nothing  comes  amiss."  — 
"I  am  glad  to  see,  son  Jack,"  said  I,  "that 
that  giddy  head  upon  your  shoulders  can  be 
prevailed  upon  to  reflect.     '  Happy  is  he'  who 


50  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

knows  how  to  profit  by  the  misfortunes  of 
others,'  says  the  proverb.  But  will  you  not 
kindly  give  Fritz  the  great  claw,  which  bit 
your  leg  (though  I  promised  it  to  you),  to  carry 
with  him  for  his  dinner  in  our  journey  ?  " 

"What  journey?"  asked  all  the  boys  at 
once.  "Ah!  we  will  go  too:  a  journey!  a 
journey!"  repealed  they,  clapping  their 
hands,  and  jumping  round  me  like  little  kids. 
"For  this  time,"  said  I,  "it  is  impossible  for 
all  of  you  to  go ;  we  know  not  yet  what  we 
are  to  set  about,  nor  whither  we  are  going. 
Your  eldest  brother  and  myself  shall  be  better 
able  to  defend  ourselves  in  any  danger,  with- 
out you ;  besides  that  with  so  many  persons 
we  could  proceed  but  slowly.  You  will  then 
all  three  remain  with  your  mother  in  this 
place,  which  appears  to  be  one  of  perfect 
safety,  and  you  shall  keep  Flora  to  be  your 
guard,  while  we  will  take  Turk  with  us.  With 
such  a  protector,  and  a  gun  well  loaded,  who 
shall  dare  treat  us  with  disrespect?  Make 
haste,  Fritz,  and  tie  up  Flora,  that  she  may 
not  follow  us;  and  have  your  eye  on  Turk, 
that  he  may  be  at  hand  to  accompany  us ; 
and  see  the  guns  are  ready. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  51 

At  the  word  guns,  the  color  rose  in  the 
cheeks  of  my  poor  boy.  His  gun  was  so  bent 
as  to  be  of  no  use  ;  he  took  it  up  and  tried  in 
vain  to  straighten  it ;  I  let  him  alone  for  a 
short  time  ;  but  at  length  I  gave  him  leave  to 
take  another,  perceiving  with  pleasure  that 
the  vexation  had  produced  a  proper  feeling  in 
his  mind.  A  moment  after,  he  attempted  to 
lay  hold  of  Flora  to  tie  her  up  ;  but  the  dog 
recollecting  the  blows  she  had  so  lately  re- 
ceived, began  to  snarl,  and  would  not  go  near 
him.  Turk  behaved  the  same,  and  I  found  it 
necessary  to  call  with  my  own  voice,  to 
induce  them  to  approach  us.  Fritz  then  in 
tears  entreated  for  some  biscuit  of  his  mother, 
declaring  that  he  would  willingly  go  without 
his  breakfast  to  make  his  peace  with  the 
dogs ;  he  accordingly  carried  them  some  bis- 
cuit, stroked  and  caressed  them,  and  in  every 
motion  seemed  to  ask  their  pardon.  As  of 
all  animals,  without  excepting  man,  the  dog 
is  least  addicted  to  revenge,  and  at  the  same 
time  is  the  most  sensible  of  kind  usage,  Flora 
instantly  relented,  and  began  to  lick  the 
hands  which  fed  her ;  but  Turk,  who  was  of  a 
more  fierce  and  independent  temper  still  held 


52  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

off,  and  seemed  -to  feel  a  want  of  confidence 
in  Fritz's  advances.  —  "Give  him  a  claw  of 
my  lobster,"  cried  Jack,  "  for  I  mean  to  give 
it  all  to  you  for  your  journey." 

"I  cannot  think  why  you  should  give  it 
all,"  interrupted  Ernest,  "for  you  need  not 
be  uneasy  about  their  journey.  Like  Robin- 
son Crusoe,  they  Will  be  sure  enough  to  find 
some  cocoa-nuts,  which  they  will  like  much 
better  than  your  miserable  lobster;  only 
think,  a  fine  round  nut,  Jack,  as  big  as  my 
head,  and  with  at  least  a  tea-cup  full  of  de- 
licious sweet  milk  in  it ! " 

"  Oh !  brother  Fritz,  pray  do  bring  me 
some,"  cried  little  Francis. 

We  now  prepared  for  our  departure :  we 
took  each  a  bag  for  game,  and  a  hatchet ;  I 
put  a  pair  of  pistols  in  the  leather  band  round 
Fritz's  waist,  in  addition  to  the  gun,  and  pro- 
vided myself  with  the  same  articles,  not  for- 
getting a  stock  of  biscuit  and  a  flask  of  fresh 
river  water.  My  wife  now  called  us  to  break- 
fast, when  all  attacked  the  lobster;  but  its 
flesh  proved  so  hard,  that  there  was  a  great 
deal  left  when  our  meal  was  finished,  and  we 
packed  it  for  our  journey  without  further  re- 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  53 

gret  from  any  one.  The  sea-lobster  is  an  an- 
imal of  considerable  size,  and  its  flesh  is  much 
more  nutritious,  but  less  delicate,  than  the 
common  lobster. 

Eritz  urged  me  to  set  out  before  the  excess- 
ive heat  came  on.  — "  With  all  my  heart," 
said  I,  "but  we  have  forgot  one  thing."  — 
"What  is  that?"  asked  Fritz,  looking  round 
him;  "I  see  nothing  to  do  but  to  take  have 
of  my  mother  and  my  brothers."  —  "I  know 
what  it  is,"  cried  Ernest;  "we  have  not 
our  prayers  this  morning."  —  "That  is  the 
very  thing,  my  dear  boy,"  said  I.  "We  are 
too  apt  to  forget  Cod,  the  giver  of  all,  for  the 
affairs  of  this  world ;  and  yet  never  had  we 
so  much  need  of  his  care,  particularly  at  the 
moment  of  undertaking  a  journey  in  an  un- 
known soil." 

Upon  this  our  pickle  Jack  began  to  imi- 
tate the  sound  of  church-bells,  and  to  call 
" Borne!  borne!  bidi  borne,  bidiman,  borne. 
To  prayers,  to  prayers,  borne,  borne!"  — 
"Thoughtless  boy!"  cried  I,  with  a  look  of 
displeasure,  "  when,  oh  !  when  will  you  be 
sensible  of  that  sacredness  in  devotion  that 
banishes  for  the  title  every  thought  of  levity 


54  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

or  amusement?  Recollect  yourself,  and  let 
me  not  have  again  to  reprove  you  on  a  sub- 
ject of  so  grave  a  nature." 

In  about  an  hour  we  had  completed  the 
preparations  for  our  departure.  I  had  load- 
ed the  guns  we  left  behind,  and  I  now  en- 
joined my  wife  to  keep  by  day  as  near  the 
boat  as  possible,  which  in  case  of  danger  was 
the  best  and  most  speedy  means  of  escape. 
My  next  concern  was  to  shorten  the  moment 
of  separation,  judging  by  my  own  feelings 
those  of  my  dear  wife ;  for  neither  could  be 
without  painful  apprehensions  of  what  new 
misfortune  might  occur  on  either  side  during 
the  interval.  We  all  melted  into  tears;  —  I 
seized  this  instant  for  drawing  Fritz  away, 
and  in  a  few  moments  the  sobs  and  often  re- 
peated adieus  of  those  we  left  behind,  died 
away  in  the  noise  of  the  waves  which  we  now 
approached,  and  which  turned  our  thoughts 
upon  ourselves  and  the  immediate  object  of 
our  journey. 

The  banks  of  the  river  were  everywhere 
steep  and  difficult,  excepting  at  one  narrow 
slip  near  the  mouth  on  our  side,  where  we 
had  drawn  our  fresh  water.      The  other  side 


THE   SWISS   PAMEDT  ROBINSON.  55 

presented  an  unbroken  line  of  sharp,  high 
perpendicular  rocks.     We  therefore  followed 
the  course  of  the  river  till  we  arrived  at  a 
duster  of  rocks  at  which  the  stream  formed  a 
cascade :  a  few  paces  beyond,  we  found  some 
large  fragments  of  rock  which  had  fallen  int« 
the  bed  of  the  river :  by  stepping  upon  these! 
and  making  now  and  then  some  hazardous 
leaps,  we  contrived  to  reach  the  other  side. 
We  proceeded  a  short  way  along  the  rock  we 
ascended  in  landing,  forcing  ouree,ves  , 
sage  through  tall  grass,  which  twined  with 
o  her  plants,  and  were  rendered  more  capa- 
ble of  resistance  by  being  half  dried  by  the 
sun.     Perceiving,  however,  that  walking  on 
this  kmd  of  surface  in  so  hot  a  sun  would  ex- 
haust our  strength,  we  looked  for  a  path,  to 
descend  and  proceed  along  the  river,  where 
we  hoped  to  meet  with  fewer  obstacles,  and 
perhaps,  to  discover  traces  of  our  ship  com- 
panions.  * 

When  we  had  walked  about  a  hundred 
paces  we  heard  a  loud  noise  behind  us  as  if 
we  were  pursued,  and  perceived  a  rustlin. 
motion  in  the  grass,  which  was  almost  as  tall 
as  ourselves.    I  was  a  good  deal  a, 


56  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

thinking  that  it  might  be  occasioned  by  some 
frightful  serpent,  a  tiger,  or  other  ferocious 
animal.  But  I  was  well  satisfied  with  Fritz, 
who,  instead  of  being  frightened,  and  running 
away,  stood  still  and  firm  to  face  the  danger, 
the  only  motion  he  made  being  to  see  that  his 
piece  was  ready,  and  turning  himself  to.front 
the  spot  from  whence  the  noise  proceeded. 
Our  alarm  was,  however,  short ;  for  what  was 
our  joy  on  seeing  rush  out,  not  an  enemy,  but 
our  faithful  Turk,  whom  in  the  distress  of  the 
parting  scene  we  had  forgotten,  and  whom  no 
doubt  our  anxious  relatives  had  sent  to  us ! 
I  received  the  poor  creature  with  lively  joy, 
and  did  not  fail  to  commend  both  the  bravery 
and  discretion  of  my  son,  in  not  yielding  to 
even  a  rational  alarm,  and  for  waiting  till  he 
was  sure  of  the  object  before  he  resolved  to 
fire :  had  he  done  otherwise,  he  might  have 
destroyed  an  animal  likely  to  afford  us  various 
kinds  of  aid,  and  to  contribute  by  the  kind- 
ness of  his  temper  to  the  pleasures  of  our  do- 
mestic scene.  —  "Observe,  my  dear  boy," 
said  I,  "to  what  dangers  the  tumult  of  the 
passions  exposes  us :  the  anger  which  over- 
powered you  yesterday,  and  the  error  natural 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  57 

to  the  occasion  we  have  this  moment  wit- 
nessed, if  you  had  unfortunately  given  way 
to  it,  might  either  of  them  have  produced  an 
irretrievable  misfortune." 

Fritz  assured  me  he  was  sensible  to  the 
truth  and  importance  of  my  remarks  ;  that  he 
would  watch  constantly  over  the  defects  of 
his  temper :  and  then  he  fell  to  caressing  the 
faithful  and  interesting  animal. 

Conversing  on  such  subjects  as  these,  we 
pursued  our  way.  On  our  left  was  the  sea, 
and  on  our  right  the  continuation  of  the  ridge 
of  rocks  which  began  at  the  place  of  our 
landing,  and  ran  along  the  shore,  the  summit 
everywhere  adorned  with  fresh  verdure  and 
a  great  variety  of  trees.  ^Ye  were  careful  to 
proceed  in  a  course  as  near  the  shore  as  possi- 
ble, casting  our  eyes  alternately  upon  its 
smooth  expanse  and  upon  the  land  in  all  di- 
rections, to  discover  our  ship  companions,  or 
the  boats  which  had  conveyed  them  from  us ; 
but  our  endeavors  were  in  vain. 

Fritz  proposed  to  fire  his  gun  from  time  to 
time,  that,  should  they  be  any  where  conceal- 
ed near  us,  they  might  be  led  to  know  of  our 
pursuit. 

5 


58  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

"This  would  be  vastly  well,"  1  observed, 
"  if  you  could  contrive  that  the  savages,  who 
are  most  likely  not  far  distant,  should  not 
hear  the  sound,  and  come  in  numbers  upon 
us."  —  "I  am  thinking,  father,"  interrupted 
Fritz,  "  that  there  is  no  good  reason  why  we 
should  give  ourselves  so  much  trouble  and 
uneasiness  about  persons  "who  abandoned  us 
so  cruelly,  and  thought  only  of  their  own 
safety. — " 

"  There  is  not  only  one  good  reason,  but 
many,"  replied  I:  "first,  we  should  not  re- 
turn evil  for  evil ;  next,  it  may  be  in  their 
power  to  assist  us;  and  lastly,  they  are  per- 
haps at  this  moment  in  the  greatest  want  of 
assistance.  It  was  their  lot  to  escape  with 
nothing  but  life  from  the  ship,  if  indeed  they 
are  still  alive,  while  we  had  the  good  fortune 
to  secure  provisions  enough  for  present  sub- 
sistence, to  a  share  of  which  they  are  as  fully 
entitled  as  ourselves." 

"  But,  father,  while  we  are  wandering  here, 
and  losing  our  time  almost  without  a  hope  of 
benefit  to  them,  might  we  not  be  better  em- 
ployed in  returning  to  the  vessel,  and  saving 
the  animals  on  board  ?  " 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  Ob) 

"  —  "When  a  variety  of  duties  present  them- 
selves for  our  choice,  Ave  should  always  give 
the  preference  to  that  which  can  confer  the 
most  solid  advantage.  The  saving  of  the  life 
of  a  man  is  a  more  exalted  action  than  the 
contributing  to  the  comfort  of  a  few  quadru- 
peds, whom  we  have  already  supplied  with 
food  for  several  days  ;  particularly  as  the  sea 
is  in  so  calm  a  state,  that  we  need  entertain 
no  apprehension  that  the  ship  will  sink  or  go 
entirely  to  pieces  just  at  present." 

My  son  made  no  reply  to  what  I  said,  and 
we  seemed  by  mutual  silent  consent  to  take  a 
few  moments  for  reflection. 

When  we  had  gone  about  two  leagues,  we 
entered  a  wood  situated  a  little  further  from 
the  sea :  here  we  threw  ourselves  on  the 
ground,  under  the  shade  of  a  tree,  by  the  side 
of  a  clear  running  stream,  and  took  out  some 
provisions  and  refreshed  ourselves.  We  heard 
the  chirping,  singing,  and  motion  of  birds  in 
the  trees,  and  observed,  as  they  now  and  then 
came  out  to  view,  that  they  were  more  at- 
tractive by  their  splendid  plumage  than  by 
any  charm  of  note.  Fritz  assured  me  that  he 
had  caught  a  glimpse  of  some  animals  like 


GO  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

apes  among  the  bushes,  and  this  was  confirm- 
ed by  the  restless  movements  of  Turk,  who 
began  to  smell  about  him,  and  to  bark  so  loud 
that  the  woods  resounded  with  the  noise. 
Fritz  stole  softly  about  to  be  sure,  and  pres- 
ently stumbled  on  a  small  round  body  which 
lay  on  the  ground :  he  brought  it  to  me,  ob- 
serving that  it  must  be  the  nest  of  some  bird. 
■ — "  What  makes  you  of  that  opinion  ?  "  said 
I.  "It  is,  I  think,  much  more  like  a  cocoa- 
nut." 

"But  I  have  read  that  there  are  seme 
kinds  of  birds,  which  build  their  nests  quite 
round ;  and  look,  father,  how  the  outside  is 
crossed  and  twined." 

"  But  do  you  not  perceive  that  what  you 
take  for  straws  crossed  and  twined  by  the 
beak  of  a  bird,  is  in  fact  a  coat  of  fibres 
formed  by  the  hand  of  Nature  ?  Do  y ou  not 
remember  to  have  read,  that  the  nut  of  a  co- 
coa shell  is  inclosed  within  a  round,  fibrous 
covering,  which  again  is  surrounded  by  a  skin 
of  a  thin  and  fragile  texture  ?  I  see  that  in 
the  one  you  hold  in  your  hand,  this  skin  has 
been  destroyed  by  time,  which  is  the  reason 
that  the  twisted  fibres  (or  inner  covering)  are 


TIIE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  61 

so  apparent ;  but  now  let  us  break  the  shell, 
and  you  will  see  the  nut  inside." 

We  soon  accomplished  this ;  but  the  nut, 
alas  !  from  lying  on  the  ground,  had  perished, 
and  appeared  but  little  different  from  a  bit  of 
dried  skin,  and  not  the  least  inviting  to  the 
palate. 

Fritz  was  much  amused  at  this  adventure. 
"  How  I  wish  Ernest  could  have  been  here  !  " 
cried  he.  "  How  he  envied  me  the  fine  large 
cocoa-nuts  I  was  to  find,  and  the  whole  tea- 
cup full  of  sweet  delicious  milk  which  was  to 
spring  out  upon  me  from  the  inside  !  But, 
father,  I  myself  believed  that  the  cocoa-nut 
contained  a  sweet  refreshing  liquid,  a  little 
like  the  juice  of  almonds:  travelers  surely 
tell  untruths!" 

"  Travelers  certainly  do  sometimes  tell  un- 
truths, but  not,  I  believe,  on  the  subject  of 
the  cocoa-nut,  which  is  well  known  to  contain 
the  liquid  you  describe,  just  before  they  are 
in  a  state  of  ripeness.  It  is  the  same  with 
our  European  nuts,  with  the  difference  of 
quantity ;  and  one  property  is  common  to 
both,  that  as  the  nut  ripens,  the  milk  dimin- 
ishes, by  thickening,  and  becoming  the  same 


G2  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

substance  as  the  nut.  If  you  put  a  ripe  nut 
a  little  way  under  the  e&rth,  in  a  good  soil, 
the  kernel  will  shoot  and  burst  the  shell ;  but 
if  it  remain  above  ground,  or  in  a  place  that 
does  not  suit  its  nature,  the  principle  of  veg- 
etation is  extinguished  by  internal  fermenta- 
tion, and  the  nut  perishes  as  you  have  seen." 

"  I  am  now  surprised  that  this  principle  is 
not  extinguished  in  every  nut ;  for  the  shell 
is  so  hard,  it  seems  impossible  for  a  softer 
substance  to  break  it." 

"  The  peach-stone  is  no  less  hard ;  the 
kernel,  notwithstanding,  never  fails  to  break 
it,  if  it  is  placed  in  a  well-nurtured  soil." 

"Now  I  begin  to  understand.  The  peach- 
stone  is  divided  into  two  parts,  like  a  muscle- 
shell  ;  it  has  a  kind  of  seam  round  it,  which 
separates  of  itself  when  the  kernel  is  swelled 
by  moisture :  but  the  cocoa-nut  in  my  hand  is 
not  so  divided,  and  I  cannot  conceive  of  its 
separating." 

"I  grant  that  the  cocoa-nut  is  differently 
formed  ;  but  you  may  see  by  the  fragments 
you  have  just  thrown  on  the  ground,  that 
Nature  has  in  another  manner  stepped  in  to 
its  assistance.     Look  near  the  stalk,  and  you 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  63 

will  discover  three  round  holes,  which  are  not, 
like  the  rest  of  its  surface,  covered  with  a 
hard  impenetrable  shell,  but  are  stopped  by 
a  spongy  kind  of  matter ;  it  is  through  these 
that  the  kernel  shoots." 

"Now,  father,  I  have  the  fancy  of  gather- 
ing all  the  pieces  together  and  giving  them  to 
Ernest,  and  telling  him  these  particulars :  I 
wonder  what  he  will  say  about  it,  and  how  he 
will  like  the  withered  nut." 
;  "Now  the  fancy  of  your  father,  my  dear 
boy,  would  be  to  find  you  without  so  keen  a 
relish  for  a  bit  of  mischief.  Joke  with  Ernest, 
if  you  will,  about  the  "withered  nut ;  but  I 
should  like  to  see  you  heal  the  disappoint- 
ment he  will  feel,  by  presenting  him  at  last 
with  a  sound  and  perfect  nut,  provided  we 
should  have  one  to  spare." 

After  looking  for  some  time,  we  had  the 
good  luck  to  meet  with  one  single  nut.  We 
opened  it,  and  finding  it  sound,  we  sat  down 
and  ate  it  for  our  dinner,  by  which  means  we 
were  enabled  to  husband  the  provisions  we 
had  brought.  The  nut,  it  is  true,  was  a  little 
oily  and  rancid ;  yet,  as  it  was  not  a  time  to 
be  nice,  we  made  a  hearty  meal,  and  then 


64  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

continued  our  route.  We  did  not  quit  the 
wood,  but  pushed  our  way  across  it,  being 
often  obliged  to  cut  a  path  through  the  bushes 
overrun  by  "creeping  plants,  with  our  hatchet. 
At  length  we  reached  a  plain,  which  afforded 
a  more  extensive  prospect  and  a  path  less  per- 
plexed and  intricate. 

We  next  entered  a  forest  to  the  right,  and 
soon  observed  that  some  of  the  trees  were  of 
a  singular  kind.  Fritz,  whose  sharp  eye  was 
continually  on  a  journey  of  discovery,  went 
up  to  examine  them  closely.  "  0  heavens  ! 
father,  what  odd  trees,  with  wens  growing  all 
about  their  trunks!"  I  had  soon  the  sur- 
prise and  satisfaction  of  assuring  him  that 
they  were  of  the  gourd-tree  kind,  the  trunks 
of  which  bear  fruit.  Fritz,  who  had  never 
heard  of  such  a  tree,  could  not  conceive  the 
meaning  of  what  he  saw,  and  asked  me  if  the 
fruit  was  a  sponge  or  a  wen.  —  "We  will 
see,"  I  replied,  "if  we  cannot  unravel  the 
mystery.  Try  to  get  down  one  of  them,  and 
we  will  examine  it  minutely." 

"I  have  got  one,"  cried  Fritz,  "and  it  is 
exactly  like  a  gourd,  only  the  rind  is  thicker 
and  harder." 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  65 

"  It  then,  like  the  rind  of  that  fruit,  can  be 
used  for  making  various  utensils,"  observed 
I ;  "  plates,  dishes,  basins,  flasks.  We  will 
give  it  the  name  of  the  gourd-tree." 

Fritz  jumped  for  joy.  —  "How  happy  my 
mother  will  be!"  cried  he  in  ecstasy;  "she 
will  no  longer  have  the  vexation  of  thinking 
when  she  makes  soup,  that  we  shall  all  scald 
our  fingers! " 

"  What,  my  boy,  do  you  think  is  the  reason 
that  this  tree  bears  its  fruit  only  on  the  trunk 
and  on  its  topmost  branches  ?  " 

"I  think  it  must  be  because  the  middle 
branches  are  too  feeble  to  support  such  a 
weight." 

"  You  have  guessed  exactly  right." 

"  But  are  these  gourds  good  to  eat  ?  " 

"At  worst  they  are,  I  believe,  harmless; 
but  they  have  not  a  very  tempting  flavor. 
The  negro  savages  set  as  much  value  on  the 
rind  of  this  fruit  as  on  gold,  for  its  use  to  them 
is  indispensable.  These  rinds  serve  them  to 
keep  their  food  and  drink  in,  and  sometimes 
they  even  cook  their  victuals  in  them." 

"  Oh  father !  it  must  be  impossible  to  cook 


66  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

their  victuals  in  them ;    for  the  heat  of  fire 
would  soon  consume  such  a  substance." 

"I  did  not  say  the  rind  was  put  upon  the 
fire." 

"  How  droll !  pray  how  are  victuals  to  be 
cooked  without  fire  ?  " 

"  Nor  did  I  say  that  victuals  could  be  cook- 
ed "without  a  fire  ;  but  there  is  no  need  to  put 
the  vessel  that  contains  the  food  upon  the 
fire." 

"I  have  no  idea  of  what  you  mean;  there 
seems  to  be  a  miracle." 

"So  be  it,  my  son.  A  little  tincture  of 
enchantment  is  the  lot  of  man.  When  he 
finds  himself  deficient  in  intelligence,  or  is  too 
indolent  to  give  himself  the  trouble  to  reflect, 
he  is  driven  by  his  weakness  to  ascribe  to  a 
miracle,  or  to  witchcraft,  what  is,  most  likely, 
nothing  but  the  most  ordinary  operation  of. 
Art  or  Nature." 

"  Well,  father,  I  will  then  believe  in  what 
you  tell  me  of  these  rinds." 

"  That  is,  you  will  cut  the  matter  short,  by 
resolving  to  be  sure  on  the  word  of  another : 
this  is  a  good  way  to  let  your  own  reason  lie 
fallow.     Come,  come,  no  such  idleness;   let 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  67 

me  help  you  to  understand  this  amazing  phe- 
nomenon.    When  it  is  intended  to  dress  food 
m  one  of  these  rinds,  the  process  is,  to  cut 
the  fruit  into  two  equal  parts,  and  scoop  out 
the  inside;  some  water  is  put  into  one  of  the 
halves,  and  into  the  water  some  fish,  a  crab, 
or  whatever  else  is  to  be  dressed ;   then  some' 
stones  red  hot,  beginning  with  one  at  a  time, 
are  thrown  in,  which  impart  sufficient  heat  to 
the  water  to  dress  the  food,  without  the  small- 
est injury  to  the  pot." 

"But  is  not  the  food  spoiled  by  ashes  fall- 
ing in,  or  by  pieces  of  the  heated  stones  sep- 
arating in  the  water  ?  " 

"  Certainly  it   is    not  easy    to  make  fine 
sauces   or  ragouts  in  isuch  a  vessel;   but  a 
dressing  of  the  meat  is  actually  accomplished, 
and  the  negroes  and  savages,  who  are  the 
persons  to  make  use  of  what  is  thus  cooked 
are  not  very  delicate  :    but  I  can  imagine  a 
tolerable  remedy  for  even  the  objection  you 
have  found.     The  food  might  be  inclosed  in 
a  vessel  small  enough  to  be  contained  in  our 
capacious  half  of  a  gourd,  and  thus  be  cooked 
upon  the  principle  so  much  used  in  chemistry; 
the  application  of  a  milder  heat  than  fire! 


03  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

And  this  method  of  cooking  has  also  another 
advantage,  that  the  thing  contained  cannot 
adhere  to  the  sides  or  bottom  of  the  vessel." 
We  next  proceeded  to  the  manufacture  of 
our  plates  and  dishes.  I  taught  my  son  how 
to  divide  the  gourd  with  a  bit  of  string,  which 
would  cut  more  equally  than  a  knife ;  I  tied 
the  string  round  the  middle  of  the  gourd  as 
tight  as  possible,  striking  it  pretty  hard  with 
the  handle  of  my  knife,  and  I  drew  tighter 
and  tighter  till  the  gourd  fell  apart,  forming 
two  regular  shaped  bowls  or  vessels  f  while 
Fritz,  who  had  used  a  knife  for  the  same  op- 
eration, had  entirely  spoiled  his  gourd  by  the 
irregular  pressure  of  his  instrument.  I  rec- 
ommended his  making  some  spoons  with  the 
spoiled  rind,  as  it  was  good  for  no  other  pur- 
pose. I,  on  my  part,  had  soon  completed  two 
dishes  of  convenient  size,  and  some  smaller 
ones  to  serve  as  plates. 

Fritz  was  in  the  utmost  astonishment  at  my 
success.  —  "  I  cannot  imagine,  father,"  said 
he,  "  how  this  way  of  cutting  the  gourd  could 
occur  to  you  !  " 

"  I  have  read  the  description  of  such  a  pro- 
cess," replied  I,  "in  books  of  travels;  and 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY    ROBINSON.  69 

also  that  such  of  the  savages  as  have  no 
knives,  and  who  make  a  sort  of  twine  from  the 
bark  of  trees  are  accustomed  to  use  it  for  this 
kind  of  purpose.  So  you  see  what  benefit 
may  be  derived  from  reading,  and  from  after- 
wards reflecting  on  what  we  read." 

"  And  the  flasks,  father ;  in  what  manner 
are  they  made  ?  " 

"  For  this  branch  of  their  ingenuity  they 
make  preparation  a  long  time  beforehand. 
If  a  negro  wishes  to  have  a  flask  or  bottle 
wTith  a*  neck,  he  binds  a  piece  of  string,  linen, 
bark  of  a  tree,  or  any  thing  he  can  get,  round 
the  part  nearest  the  stalk  of  a  very  young 
gourd;  he  draws  this  bandage  so  tight,  that 
the  part  at  liberty  soon  forms  itself  to  a 
round  shape,  while  the  part  which  is  confined 
contracts,  and  remains  ever  after  narrow. 
By  this  method  it  is  that  they  obtain  flasks 
or  bottles  of  a  perfect  form." 

"  Are  then  the  bottle-shaped  gourds  I  have 
seen  in  Europe  trained  by  a  similar  prepar- 
ation ? " 

"  No,  they  are  of  another  species,  and 
what  you  have  seen  is  their  natural  shape." 

Our  conversation  and  our  labor  thus  went 


70  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

on  together.  Fritz  had  completed  some 
plates,  and  was  not  a  little  proud  of  the 
achievement.  "  Ah,  how  delighted  my  moth- 
er will  be  to  eat  upon  them  ! "  cried  he.  "  But 
how  shall  we  convey  them  to  her  ?  They  will 
not,  I  fear,  bear  traveling  well." 

"  We  must  leave  them  here  on  the  sand  for 
the  sun  to  dry  them  thoroughly ;  this  will  be 
accomplished  by  the  time  of  our  return  this 
way,  and  we  can  then  carry  them  with  us ;  but 
care  must  be  taken  to  fill  them  with  sand,  that 
they  may  not  shrink  or  warp  in  so  ardent  a 
heat."  My  boy  did  not  dislike  this  task  ;  for 
he  had  no  great  fancy  to  the  idea  of  carrying 
such  a  load  on  our  journey  of  further  discov- 
ery. Our  sumptuous  service  of  porcelain  was 
accordingly  spread  upon  the  ground,  and  for 
the  present  abandoned  to  its  fate. 

We  amused  ourselves  as  we  proceeded,  in 
endeavoring  to  fashion  some  spoons  from  the 
fragments  of  the  gourd-rinds.  I  had  the 
fancy  to  try  my  skill  upon  a  piece  of  cocoa- 
nut  ;  but  I  must  needs  confess  that  what  we 
produced  had  not  <he  least  resemblance  to 
those  I  had  seen  in  the  Museum  at  London, 
and  which  were  shown  there  as  the  work  of 


THE   SWISS    JAMILY    ROEINSON.  71 

some  of  the  islanders  of  the  Southern  Seas. 
A  European  without  instruments  must  always 
find  himself  excelled  in  such  attempts  by  the 
superior  adroitness  and  patience  of  savages ; 
in  this  instance  too  of  ourselves,  we  had  the 
assistance  of  knives,  -while  the  savages  have 
only  fiat  stones  with  a  sharp  edge  to  work 
with. 

"My  attempt  has  been  scarcely  more  suc- 
cessful than  your  own,"  I  cried  ;  "  and  to  eat 
soup  with  either  your  spoons  or  mine,  we 
ought  to  have  mouths  extending  from  ear  to 
ear." 

"True  enough,  father,"  answered  Fritz; 
"but  it  is  not  my  fault.  In  making  mine,  I 
took  the  curve  of  my  bit  of  rind  for  a  guide ; 
if  I  had  made  it  smaller,  it  would  have  been 
too  fiat,  and  it  is  still  more  difficult  to  eat  with 
a  shovel  than  with  an  oyster-shell.  But  I  am 
thinking  that  they  may  serve  till  I  have  im- 
proved upon  my  first  attempt,  and  I  am  quite 
sure  of  the  pleasure  they  will  afford  my 
mother.  I  imagine  it  pleases  God  sometimes 
to  visit  his  creatures  with  difficulties,  that 
they  may  learn  to  be  satisfied  with  a  little." 

"That  is  an  excellent  remark,  my  boy," 


72  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

said  I,  "and  gives  me  more  pleasure  than 
a  hundred  crowns  would  do."  Fritz  burst 
into  a  fit  of  laughter.  —  "  You  do  not  rate  my 
remark  very  high  when  you  say  this  father," 
cried  he,  "  for  of  what  use  would  a  hundred 
crowns  he  to  you  at  present !  If  you  had  said 
a  good  soup,  or  a  hundred  cocoa-nuts,  I  should 
be  much  prouder  for  having  made  it." 

"But  as  it  is,  my  sod,  you  have  a  right  to 
be  proud.  I  am  well  pleased  to  find  you  are 
beginning  to  estimate  things  according  to 
their  real  value  and  usefulness,  instead  of 
considering  them  as  good  or  bad,  like  chil- 
dren, without  understanding  the  true  reason. 
Money  is  only  a  means  of  exchange  in  human 
society ;  but  here,  on  this  solitary  coast,  Na- 
ture is  more  generous  than  man,  and  asks  no 
payment  for  the  benefits  she  bestows." 

While  these  conversations  and  our  labors 
had  been  going  on,  we  had  not  neglected  the 
great  object  of  our  pursuit,  —  the  making 
every  practicable  search  for  our  ship  compan- 
ions. But  our  endeavors,  alas !  were  all  in 
vain. 

After  a  walk  of  about  four  leagues  in  all, 
we  arrived  at  a  spot  where  a  slip  of  land 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  73 

reached  far  out  into  the  sea,  on  which  we  ob- 
served a  rising  piece  of  ground  or  hill.  On  a 
moment's  reflection  we  determined  to  ascend 
it,  concluding  we  should  obtain  a  clear  view 
of  all  adjacent  parts,  which  would  save  us  the 
fatigue  of  further  rambles.  Vv"e  accordingly 
accomplished  the  design. 

We  did  not  reach  the  top  of  the  hill  with- 
out many  efforts  and  a  plentiful  perspiration : 
but  when  there,  we  beheld  a  scene  of  wild  and 
solitary  beauty,  comprehending  a  vast  extent 
of  land  and  water.  It  was,  however,  in  vain 
that  we  used  our  telescope  in  all  directions ; 
no  trace  of  man  appeared.  A  truly  embel- 
lished nature  presented  herself;  and  we  were 
in  the  highest  degree  sensible  of  her  thousand 
charms.  The  shore  rounded  by  a  bay  of 
some  extent,  the  bank  of  which  ended  in  a 
promontory  on  the  further  side ;  the  agreea- 
ble blue  tint  of  its  surface ;  the  sea,  genlty 
agitated  by  waves  in  which  the  rays  of  the 
sun  were  reflected ;  the  woods  of  variegated 
hues  and  verdure,  formed  altogether  a  picture 
of  such  magnificence,  of  such  new  and  ex- 
quisite delight,  that,  if  the  recollection  of  our 

unfortunate  companions,  ingulfed  perhaps  in 

6 


74  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

this  very  ocean,  had  not  intruded  to  depress 
our  spirits,  we  should  have  yielded  to  the  ec- 
stasy the  scene  was  calculated  to  inspire.  In 
reality,  from  this  moment  we  began  to  lose 
even  the  feeble  hope  we  had  entertained,  and 
sadness  stole  involuntarily  into  our  hearts. 
We,  however,  became  but  the  more  sensible 
of  the  goodness  of  the  Divine  Being,  in  the 
special  protection  afforded  to  ourselves,  in 
conducting  us  to  a  home  where  there  was  no 
present  cause  for  fear  of  danger  from  without, 
where  we  had  not  experienced  the  want  of 
food,  and  where  there  was  a  prospect  of  fu- 
ture safety  for  us  all.  We  had  encountered 
no  venomous  or  ferocious  animals ;  and,  as 
far  as  our  sight  could  yet  reach,  we  were  not 
threatened  by  the  approach  of  savages.  I 
remarked  to  Fritz,  that  we  seemed  destined 
to  a  solitary  life,  and  that  it  was  a  rich  coun- 
try which  appeared  to  be  allotted  us  for 
habitation;  —  "at  least,  my  son,  our  habita- 
tion it  must  be  unless  some  vessel  should  hap- 
pen to  put  on  shore  on  the  same  coast,  and  be 
in  a  condition  to  take  us  back  to  our  native 
land.  And  God's  will  be  done!"  added  I, 
"  for  he  knows  what  is  best  for  us.     Having 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  75 

left  our  native  country,  fixed  in  the  intention 
of  inhabiting  some  propitious  soil,  [See  In- 
troduction], it  was  natural  at  first  to  encoun- 
ter difiicult  adventures.  Let  us  therefore  con- 
sider our  situation  as  no  disappointment  in 
any  essential  respect.  T\re  can  pursue  our 
scheme  for  agriculture.  We  shall  learn  to  in- 
vent arts.     Our  only  want  is  numbers." 

"  As  for  me,"  answered  Fritz,  "  I  care  but 
little  about  being  so  few  of  us.  If  I  have  the 
happiness  of  seeing  you  and  my  mother  well 
in  health  and  easy,  I  shall  not  give  myself 
much  uneasiness  about  those  wicked,  unkind 
ship  companions  of  ours." 

"No,  my  boy ;  they  were  not  all  bad  peo- 
ple ;  and  they  would  have  become  better  men 
here,  because  not  exposed  to  the  temptations 
of  the  world.  Common  interest,  united  ex- 
ertions, mutual  services  and  counsels,  to- 
gether with  the  reflections  which  would  have 
grown  in  such  a  state  as  this,  tend  to  the  im- 
provement of  the  heart's  affections." 

"We  however,  of  ourselves,"  observed 
Fritz,  "  form  a  larger  society  than  was  the  lot 
of  Adam  before  he  had  children ;  and,  as  we 
grow  oldgr,  we  will  perform  all  the  necessary 


76  THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

labor,  while  you  and  my  mother  enjoy  ease 
and  quiet." 

"  Your  assurances  are  as  kind  as  I  can 
desire,  and  they  encourage  me  to  struggle 
with  what  hardships  may  present  themselves. 
Who  can  foresee  in  what  manner  it  may  be 
the  will  of  Heaven  to  dispose  of  us  ?  In 
times  of  old,  God  said  to  one  of  his  chosen, 
6 1  will  cause  a  great  nation  to  descend  from 
thy  loins.'" 

"  And  why  may  not  we  too  become  patri- 
archs, father  ?  " 

"Why  not?  you  ask;  —  and  I  have  not 
now  time  to  answer.  But  come,  my  young 
patriarch,  let  us  find  a  shady  spot,  that  we 
may  not  be  consumed  with  the  fierce  heat  of 
the  sun  before  the  patriarchal  condition  can 
be  conferred  upon  us.  Look  yonder  at  that 
inviting  wood  :  let  us  hasten  thither  to  take  a 
little  rest,  then  eat  our  dinner,  and  return  to 
our  dear  expecting  family." 

We  descended  the  hill,  and  made  our  way 
to  a  wood  of  palms,  which  I  had  just  pointed 
out  to  Fritz ;  our  path  was  clothed  with  reeds, 
entwined  with  other  plants,  which  greatly  ob- 
structed our  march.     We  advanced  slowly 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  77 

and  cautiously,  fearing  at  every  step  to  re- 
ceive a  mortal  bite  from  some  serpent  that 
might  be  concealed  among  them.  We  made 
Turk  go  before,  to  give  us  timely  notice  of 
any  thing  dangerous.  I  also  cut  a  reed-stalk 
of  uncommon  length  and  thickness,  for  my 
defense  against  any  enemy.  It  was  not  with- 
out surprise  that  I  perceived  a  glutinous  sap 
proceed  from  the  divided  end  of  the  stalk. 
Prompted  by  curiosity,  I  tasted  this  liquid, 
and  found  it  sweet  and  of  a  pleasant  flavor,  so 
that  not  a  doubt  remained  that  we  were  pass- 
ing through  a  plantation  of  sugar-canes.  I 
again  applied  the  cane  to  my  lips,  and  sucked 
it  for  some  moments,  and  felt  singularly  re- 
freshed and  strengthened.  I  determined  not 
to  tell  Fritz  immediately  of  the  fortunate  dis- 
covery I  had  made,  preferring  that  he  should 
find  it  out  for  himself.  As  he  was  at  some 
distance  before  me,  I  called  out  to  him  to  cut 
a  reed  for  his  defense.  This  he  did,  and, 
without  any  remark,  used  it  simply  for  a 
stick,  striking  lustily  with  it  on  all  sides  to 
clear  a  passage.  The  motion  occasioned  the 
sap  to  run  out  abundantly  upon  his  hand,  and 
he  stopped  to  examine  so  strange  a  circum- 


78  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

stance.  He  lifted  it  up,  and  still  a  larger 
quantity  escaped.  He  now  tasted  what  was 
on  his  fingers.  Oh  !  then  for  the  exclama- 
tions— "  Father,  father,  I  have  found  some 
sugar!  —  some  sirup!  I  have  a  sugar-cane 
in  my  hand!  Run  quickly,  father!"  We 
were  soon  together,  jointly  partaking  of  the 
pleasure  we  had  in  store  for  his  dear  mother 
and  the  younger  brothers.  In  the  meantime 
Fritz  kept  sucking  the  juice  of  the  single 
cane  he  had  cut,  till  his  relish  for  it  was  ap- 
peased. I  thought  this  a  profitable  moment 
to  say  a  word  about  excesses ;  of  the  wisdom 
of  husbanding  even  our  lawful  pleasures ;  of 
the  advantages  of  moderation  in  our  most  ra- 
tional enjoyments. 

"But,"  father,  we  will  take  home  a  good 
provision  of  sugar-canes,  however.  I  shall 
only  just  taste  of  them  once  or  twice  as  I 
walk  along.  But  it  will  be  so  delightful  to 
regale  my  mother  and  my  little  brothers  with 
them!"    . 

"  I  have  no  objection ;  but  do  not  take  too 
heavy  a  load,  for  you  have  other  things  to 
carry,  and  we  have  yet  far  to  go." 

Counsel  was  given  in  vain.     He  persisted 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  79 

in  cutting  at  least  a  dozen  of  the  largest 
canes,  tore  off  their  leaves,  tied  them  together, 
and,  putting  them  under  his  arm,  dragged 
them,  as  well  as  he  was  able,  through  thick 
and  thin  to  the  end  of  the  plantation.  We 
regained  the  wood  of  palms  without  accident ; 
here  we  stretched  our  limbs  in  the  shade,  and 
finished  our  repast.  We  were  scarcely  set- 
tled, when  a  great  number  of  large  monkeys, 
terrified  by  the  sight  of  us  and  the  barking  of 
Turk,  stole  so  nimbly,  and  yet  so  quietly  up 
the  trees,  that  we  scarcely  perceived  them  till 
they  had  reached  the  topmost  parts.  From 
this  height  they  fixed  their  eyes  upon  us, 
grinding  their  teeth,  making  horrible  gri- 
maces, and  saluting  us  with  screams  of  hostile 
import.  Being  now  satisfied  that  the  trees 
were  palms,  bearing  cocoa-nuts,  I  conceived 
the  hope  of  obtaining  some  of  this  fruit  in  a 
milky  state,  through  the  monkeys.  Fritz,  on 
his  part,  prepared  to  shoot  at  them  instantly. 
He  threw  his  burdens  on  the  ground,  and  it 
was  with  difficulty  I,  by  pulling  his  arm,  could 
prevent  him  from  firing. 

"  Ah  !  father,  why  did  you  not  let  me  fire  ? 
Monkeys  are  such  malicious,  mischievous  ani- 


80  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

mals !  Look  how  they  raise  their  hacks  in 
derision  of  us  !  " 

"And  is  it  possible  that  this  can  excite 
your  vengeance,  my  most  reasonable  Mr. 
Fritz  ?  To  say  the  truth,  I  have  myself  no 
predilection  for  monkeys,  who,  as  you  say, 
are  naturally  prone  to  be  malicious.  But  as 
long  as  an  animal  does  us  no  injury,  or  that 
his  death  can  in  no  shape  be  useful  in  pre- 
serving our  own  lives,  we  have  no  right  to  de- 
stroy it,  and  still  less  to  torment  it  for  our 
amusement,  or  from  an  insensate  desire  of  re- 
venge. But  what  will  you  say  if  I  show  you 
that  we  may  find  means  to  make  living  mon- 
keys contribute  to  our  service  ?  See  what  I 
am  going  to  do ; — but  step  aside,  for  fear  of 
your  head.  If  I  succeed,  the  monkeys  will 
furnish  Us  with  plenty  of  our  much  desired 
cocoa-nuts." 

I  now  began  to  throw  some  stones  at  the 
monkeys  ;  and  though  I  could  not  make  them 
reach  to  half  the  height  at  which  they  had 
taken  refuge,  they  showed  every  mark  of  ex- 
cessive anger.  With  their  accustomed  trick 
of  imitation,  they  furiously  tore  off,  nut  by 
nut,  all  that  grew  upon  the  branches  near 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  81 

them,  to  hurl  them  down  upon  us ;  so  that  it 
was  with  difficulty  we  avoided  the  blows ;  and 
in  a  short  time  a  great  number  of  cocoa-nuts 
lay  on  the  ground  round  us.  Fritz  laughed 
heartily  at  the  excellent  success  of  our  strat- 
agem ;  and  as  the  shower  of  cocoa-nuts  began 
to  subside,  we  set  about  collecting  them.  We 
chose  a  place  where  we  could  repose  at  our 
ease,  to  feast  on  this  rich  harvest.  "We  open- 
ed the  shells  with  a  hatchet,  but  first  enjoyed 
the  sucking  of  some  of  the  milk  through  the 
three  small  holes,  where  we  found  it  easy  to 
insert  the  point  of  a  knife.  The  milk  of  the 
cocoa-nut  has  not  a  pleasant  flavor ;  but  it  is  ■ 
excellent  for  quenching  thirst.  What  we 
liked  best  was  a  kind  of  solid  cream  which 
adheres  to  the  shell,  and  which  we  scraped  off 
with  our  spoons.  We  mixed  with  it  a  little 
of  the  sap  of  our  sugar-canes,  and  it  made  a 
delicious  repast. 

Our  meal  being  finished,  we  prepared  to 
leave  the  wood  of  palms.  I  tied  all  the  co- 
coa-nuts which  had  stalks,  together,  and 
threw  them  across  my  shoulder.  Fritz  re- 
sumed his  bundle  of  sugar-canes.  We  divided 
the  rest  of  the  things  between  us,  and  contin- 
ued our  way  towards  home. 


82  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 


CHAPTER  IY. 

Return  from  the  Voyage  of  Discovery.     A.Nbctur- 
nal  Alarm. 

My  poor  boy  now  began  to  complain  of  fa- 
tigue ;  the  sugar-canes  galled  his  shoulders, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  shift  them  often.  At 
last,  he  stopped  to  take  breath.  —  "No," 
cried  he,  "  I  never  could  have  thought  that  a 
few  sugar-canes  could  be  so  heavy.  How 
sincerely  I  pity  the  poor  negroes  who  carry 
heavy  loads  of  them  !  Yet  how  glad  I  shall 
be  when  my  mother  and  Ernest  are  tasting 
them ! " 

While  we  were  conversing  and  proceeding 
onwards,  Fritz,  perceived  that  from  time  to 
time  I  sucked  the  end  of  a  sugar-cane,  and  he 
would  needs  do  the  same.  It  was  in  vain, 
however,  that  he  tried  ;  scarcely  a  drop  of  the 
sap  reached  his  eager  lips.  —  ''What  can  be 
the  reason,"  said  he,  "that  though  the  cane 
is  full  of  juice,  I  cannot  get  out  a  drop  ?" 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  83 

"The  reason  is,"  answered  I,  "that  you 
make  use  neither  of  reflection  nor  of  your 
imagination." 

"Ah !  I  recollect  now;  is  it  not  a  question 
about  air  ?  Unless  there  were  a  particular 
opening  in  the  cane,  I  may  suck  in  vain ;  no 
juice  will  come." 

"  You  have  explained  the  nature  of  the  dif- 
ficulty; but  how  will  you  manage  to  set  it 
right?" 

"  Father,  lend  me  your  cane  an  instant." 

4  No,  no,  that  will  not  do ;  what  I  wish  is, 
that  you  should  yourself  invent  the  remedy." 

"  Let  me  see  :  I  imagine  that  I  have  only 
to  make  a  little  opening  just  above  the  first 
knot,  and  then  the  air  can  enter." 

"Exactly  right.  But  tell  me  what  you 
think  would  be  the  operation  of  this  opening 
near  the  first  knot ;  and  in  what  manner  can 
it  make  the  juice  get  into  your  mouth  ?  " 

"  The  pith  of  the  cane  being  completely  in- 
terrupted in  its  growth  by  each  knot,  the 
opening  made  below  could  have  no  effect  upon 
the  part  above :  in  sucking  the  juice,  I  draw 
in  nfy  breath,  and  thus  exhaust  the  air  in  my 
mouth ;  the  external  air  presses  at  the  same 


84  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

time  through  the  hole  I  have  made,  and  fills 
this  void :  the  juice  of  the  cane  forms  an  ob- 
stacle to  this  effort,  and  is  accordingly  driven 
into  my  mouth.  But  low  shall  I  manage 
when  I  have  sucked  this  part  dry,  to  get  at 
the  part  above  ?" 

"Oh,  oh,  Mr.  Philosopher,  what  should 
prevent  you,  who  have  been  reasoning  so  well 
about  the  force  and  fluidity  of  the  air,  from 
immediately  conceiving  so  simple  a  process  as 
that  of  cutting  away  the  part  of  the  cane  you 
have  already  sucked  dry,  and  making  a  second 
perforation  in  the  part  above,  so  that " 

"  Oh,  I  have  it,  I  have  it,  I  understand  ;  — 
but  if  we  should  become  too  expert  in  the  art 
of  drawing  out  the  juice,  I  fear  but  few  of  the 
canes  will,  reach  our  good  friends  in  the  tent." 

•  - 1  also  am  not  without  my  apprehensions, 
that  of  our  acquisition  we  shall  carry  them 
only  a  few  sticks  for  fire-wood ;  for  I  must 
bring  another  circumstance  to  your  recollec- 
tion :  the  juice  of  the  sugar-cane  is  apt  to  turn 
sour  soon  after  cutting,  and  the  more  certainly 
in  such  heat  as  we  now  experience ;  we  may 
suck  them,  therefore,  without  compunction,  at 
the  diminution  of  their  numbers." 


THE  SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  85 

"  Well,  then,  if  we  can  do  no  better  with 
the  sugar-canes,  at  least  I  will  take  them  a 
good  provision  of  the  milk  of  cocoa-nuts, 
which  I  have  here  in  a  tin  bottle ;  we  shall 
sit  round  on  the  grass  and  drink  it  so  delic- 
iously !  " 

"  In  this  too,  m j  generous  boy,  I  fear  you 
will  be  disappointed.  You  talk  of  milk  ;  but 
the  milk  of  the  cocoa-nut,  no  less  than  the 
juice  of  the  sugar-cane,  when  exposed  to  the 
air  and  heat,  turns  soon  to  vinegar.  I  would 
almost  wager  that  it  is  already  sour ;  for  the 
tin  bottle  which  contains  it  is  particularly 
liable  to  become  hot  in  the  sun." 

"  0  heavens,  how  provoking  !  I  must  taste 
it  this  very  minute."  The  tin  bottle  was 
lowered  from  his  shoulder  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye,  and  he  began  to  pull  the  cork ;  as 
soon  as  it  was  loose,  the  liquid  flewT  upwards, 
hissing  and  frothing  like  champagne. 

"  Bravo,  Mr.  Fritz  !  you  have  manufactur- 
ed there  a  wine  of  some  mettle.  I  must  now 
caution  you  not  to  let  it  make  you  tipsy." 

"  Oh,  taste  it,  father,  pray  taste  it,  it  is 
quite  delicious  ;  not  the  least  like  vinegar ;  it 
is  rather  like  excellent  new  wine ;  its  taste  is 
H 


86  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

sweet,  and  it  is  so  sparkling  !  do  take  a  little, 
father.  Is  it  not  good  ?  If  all  the  milk  re- 
mains in  this  state,  the  treat  will  be  better 
even  than  I  thought." 

"  I  wish  it  may  prove  so,  but  I  have  my 
fears ;  its  present  state  is  what  is  called  the 
first  degree  of  fermentation ;  the  same  thing 
happens  to  honey,  dissolved  in  water,  of 
which  hydromel  is  made.  When  this  first 
fermentation  is  past,  and  the  liquid  is  clear, 
it  is  become  a  sort  of  wine  or  other  fermented 
liquor,  the  quality  of  which  depends  on  the 
materials  used.  By  the  application  of  heat, 
there  next  results  a  second  and  more  gradual 
fermentation,  which  turns  the  fluid  into  vine- 
gar. But  this  may  be  prevented  by  extraor- 
dinary care,  and  by  keeping  the  vessel  that 
contains  it  in  a  cool  place.  Lastly,  a  third 
fermentation  takes  place  in  the  vinegar  itself, 
which  entirely  changes  its  character,  and  de- 
prives it  of  its  taste,  its  strength,  and  its 
transparency.  In  the  intense  temperature  of 
this  climate,  this  triple  fermentation  comes  on 
very  rapidly,  so  that  it  is  not  improbable  that, 
on  entering  our  tent,  you  might  find  your 
liquids  turned  to  vinegar,  or  even  to  a  thick 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSOX.  87 

liquid  of  ill  odor;  we  may  therefore  venture 
to  refresh  ourselves  with  a  portion  of  our 
booty,  that  it  may  not  all  be  spoiled.  Come 
then,  I  drink  your  health,  and  that  of  our 
dear  family.  I  fod  the  Iiquor  &t  ^^ 
both  refreshing  and  agreeable;  but  I  am 
pretty  sure  that,  if  we  would  arrive  sober,  we 
must  not  venture  on  frequent  libations." 

Our   regale   imparted   to    our   exhausted 
irames  an  increase  of  strength  and  cheerful- 
ness.     We  reached  the  place  where  we  had 
left  our  gourd  utensils  upon  the  sands-  we 
found  them  perfectly  dry,  as  hard  as  bone, 
and  not  the  least  misshapen.     We  now,  there- 
fore, could  put  them  into  our  game  bao-s  con- 
veniently enough,  and  this  done,  we  continued 
our  way.     Scarcely  had  we  passed  through 
the  httle  wood  in  which  we  breakfasted,  when 
lurk  sprang  away  to  seize  upon  a  troop  of 
monkeys,  who  were  skipping  about  and  amus- 
mg   themselves   without   observing   our   ap- 
proach     They  were  thus  taken  by  surprise  : 
and  before  we  could  get  to  the  spot,  our  fero- 
cious Turk  had  already  seized  one  of  them- 
it  was  a  female  who  held  a  young  one  in 
her  arms,   which  she  was  caressing  almost 


05  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

to  suffocation,  and  which  incumbrance  depriv- 
ed her  of  the  power  of  escaping.  The  poor 
creature  was  killed,  and  afterwards  devoured ; 
the  young  one  hid  himself  in  the  grass,  and 
looked  on,  grinding  his  teeth  all  the  time  that 
this  horrible  feat  was  performing.  Fritz  new 
like  lightning  to  make  Turk  let  go  his  hold. 
He  lost  his  hat,  threw  down  his  tin  bottle, 
canes,  &c,  but  all  in  vain ;  he  was  too  late  to 
prevent  the  murder  of  the  interesting  mother. 
The  next  scene  that  presented  itself  was  of 
a  different  nature,  and  comical  enough.  The 
young  monkey  sprang  nimbly  on  Fritz's  shoul- 
ders, and  fastened  his  feet  in  the  stiff  curls 
of  his  hair ;  nor  could  the  squalls  of  Fritz,  nor 
all  the  shaking  he  gave  him,  make  him  let  go 
his  hold.  I  ran  to  them,  laughing  heartily, 
for  I  saw  that  the  animal  was  too  young  to  do 
him  any  injury,  while  the  panic  visible  in  the 
features  of  the  boy  made  a  ludicrous  contrast 
with  the  grimaces  of  the  monkey,  whom  I  in 
vain  endeavored  to  disengage.  "  There  is  no 
remedy,  Fritz,"  said  I,  "  but  to  submit  quietly 
and  carry  him  ;  he  will  furnish  an  addition  to 
our  stock  of  provisions,  though  less  alluring, 
I  must  needs  confess,  than  for  your  mother's 


0 


THE  YGUtfG  MONKEF. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   BOBINSON.  89 

If6'  We  COuW  wish-     T^  conduct  of  tic  lit- 
tle creature  displays  a  surprising  intelligence; 

Je  has   ost  las  mother,  and  he  adopts /oufo 
*»  father;    perhaps  he  discovered   in  you 
something  of  the  air  of  a  father  of  a  family" 

W!  i  7  ,the  Kttle  r°gUe  f0und  out  that  he 
had  to  do  With  chicken-heart,  who  shrinks 
from  the  ldea  of  l]Ureat.ng  ^  an.mai 

has  thrown  itself  on  his  protection.     But  I 

assure  you   father,  he  is  giving  me  some  ter- 
HMe  etches,  and  I  shall  be  obliged  to 

to  try  once  more  to  get  him -off." 

With  a  little  gentleness  and  management  I 
^ceeded.  I  took  the  creature  in  my  arms 
as  one  would  an  infant,  nor  could  I  help  pity- 
%g  and,  caressi»S  him.  He  was  not  larger 
than  a  kitten,  and  quite  unable  to  help  him- 

8  «m  TfZT  at  ,east  as  taI1  "  *&>■ 

^  hat  shall  I  do  with  thee,  poor  orphan  »  " 
cried  I;  «and  how,  i„  our  condition,  shall  I 
be  able  to  maintain  thee?  We  have  already  ' 
more  mouths  to  fill  than  food  to  put  into 
them,  and  our  workmen  are  too  young  to  af- 
ford us  much  hope  from  their  exertions." 

Father,"  cried  Fritz,  «  do  let  .me  have 
this  little  animal  to  myself.     I  win  take  ft 


90  THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

greatest  care  of  him :  I  "will  give  him  all  my 
share  of  the  milk  of  the  cocoa-nuts  till  we  get 
our  cows  and  goats ;  and  who  knows  ?  his 
monkey  instinct  may  one  day  assist  us  in  dis- 
covering some  wholesome  fruits." 

"  I  have  not  the  least  objection,"  answered 
I.  "You  have  conducted  yourself  through- 
out this  tragic-comic  adventure  like  a  lad  of 
courage  and  sensibility,  and  I  am  well  satis- 
fied with  every  circumstance  of  your  behavior. 
It  is  therefore  but  just  that  the  little  protege 
should  be  given  up  to  your  management  and 
discretion ;  much  will  depend  on  your  manner 
of  educating  him ;  by  and  by  we  shall  see 
whether  he  will  be  fittest  to  aid  us  with  his  in- 
telligence, or  to  injure  us  by  his  malice ;  in 
this  last  case  we  shall  have  nothing  to  do  but 
to  get  rid  of  him." 

While  Fritz  and  I  were  talking  about  the 
young  monkey,  Turk  was  taking  his  fill  of  the 
remains  of  its  unfortunate  mother.  Fritz 
would  have  driven  him  away,  but  besides  the 
difficulty  of  restraining  him,  we  had  to  consid- 
er, that  we  might,  ourselves,  be  in  danger 
from  the  pressing  hunger  of  so  powerful  an 
animal ;  all  the  food  we  had  before  given  him 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  91 

in  the  day  seemed  too  little  for  the  appeasing 
his  unbounded  appetite. 

We  now  thought  of  resuming  our  journey. 
The  little  orphan  jumped  again  on  the  shoul- 
der of  his  protector,  while  I  on  my  part 
relieved  my  boy  of  the  bundle  of  canes. 
Scarcely  had  we  proceeded  a  quarter  of  a 
league  when  Turk  overtook  us  full  gallop. 
Fritz  and  I  received  him  without  the  usual 
marks  of  kindness,  and  reproached  him  with 
the  cruel  action  he  had  committed,  as  if  he 
could  feel  and  understand  us ;  but  he  showed 
no  sign  of  concern  about  the  matter,  follow- 
ing quietly  behind  Fritz  with  an  air  of  cool 
and  perfect  satisfaction.  The  young  monkey 
appeared  uneasy  from  seeing  him  so  near, 
and  passed  round  and  fixed  himself  on  his 
protector's  bosom,  who  did  not  long  bear,  so 
great  an  inconvenience  without  having  re- 
course to  his  invention  for  a  remedy.  He  tied 
some  string  round  Turk's  body  in  such  a 
way,  as  to  admit  of  the  monkey's  being  fas- 
tened on  his  back  with  it,  and  then  in  a  tone 
of  genuine  pity,  he  said,  "Now,  Mr.  Turk, 
since  you  had  the  cruelty  to  destroy  the 
mother,  it  is  for  you  to  take  care  of  her  child." 


92  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

At  first  the  dog  was  restive,  and  resisted ;  but 
by  degrees,  partly  by  menaces,  and  partly  by 
caresses,  we  succeeded  in  gaining  his  good 
will,  and  he  quietly  consented  to  carry  the 
little  burden ;  and  the  young  monkey,  who 
also  had  made  some  difficulties,  at  length 
found  himself  perfectly  accommodated.  Fritz 
put  another  string  round  Turk's  neck  by 
which  he  might  lead  him,  a  precaution  he 
used  to  prevent  him  from  going  out  of  sight. 
I  must  confess,  we  had  not  the  sin  of  too 
great  haste  to  answer  for,  so  that  I  had  leisure 
for  amusing  myself  with  the  idea,  that  we 
should  arrive  at  our  home  with  something  of 
the  appearance  of  keepers  of  rare  animals  for 
show.  I  enjoyed  in  foresight  the  jubilations 
of  our  young  ones  when  they  should  see  the 
figure  we  made.  —  "Ah!"  cried  Fritz,  "I 
promise  you,  brother  Jack  will  draw  materi- 
als enough  from  the  occasion  for  future  ma- 
licious jokes."  —  "Do  you  then,  my  son," 
said  I,  "  like  your  admirable  mother,  who 
never  fails  to  make  allowance  for  the  buoyant 
spirits  of  youth,  and  is  ever  ready  to  find  a 
charitable  motive  in  every  thing.  As  for  the 
question  of  Turk,  let  me  observe  that  it  would 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  93 

in  our  situation  be  dangerous  to  teach  our 
dogs  not  to  attack  and  kill,  if  they  can,  what 
unknown  animals  they  meet  with.  You  will 
see  that  he  will  soon  regard  your  little  mon- 
key as  a  member  of  our  family ;  already  he 
is  content  to  carry  him  on  his  back.  But  we 
must  not  discourage  him  in  his  fancy  for  at- 
tacking wild  beasts :  Heaven  bestowed  the 
dog  on  man  to  be  his  safeguard  and  ally,  and 
the  horse  the  same.  How  conspicuous  is  the 
goodness  of  the  Almighty,  in  the  natural  dis- 
positions he  has  bestowed  on  these  useful 
creatures,  who  discover  so  much  affection  for 
man,  and  so  easily  submit  to  the  slavery  of 
serving  him  !  A  man  on  horseback,  and  ac- 
companied by  a  troop  of  well-conditioned 
dogs,  need  not  fear  any  species  of  wild  beasts, 
not  even  the  lion,  nor  the  hysena ;  he  may 
even  baffle  the  voracious  rapacity  of  the  ti- 
ger." 

"I  feel  how  fortunate  we  are  in  the  pos- 
session of  two  such  creatures :  but  what  a 
pity  that  the  horses  we  had  on  board  died 
during  our  voyage,  and  leave  us  with  only  an 
ass !  " 

"  Let  us  take  care  how  we  treat  even  our 


94  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

ass  with  disdain.  I  wish  we  had  him  safe  on 
land.  Fortunately  he  is  large,  and  strong, 
and  not  of  the  common  kind.  We  may  train 
him  to  do  us  the  same  services  as  are  per- 
formed by  the  horse ;  and  it  is  not  improba- 
ble that  he  will  even  improve  under  our  care, 
and  from  the  excellent  pasture  he  will  find  in 
this  climate." 

In  such  conversation  as  this,  on  subjects 
equally  interesting  to  both,  we  forgot  the 
length  of  our  journey,  and  soon  found  our- 
selves on  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  near  our 
family,  before  we  were  aware.  Flora  from 
the  other  side  announced  our  approach  by  a 
violent  barking,  and  Turk  replied  so  heartily,- 
that  his  motions  unseated  his  little  burden, 
who  in  his  fright  jumped  the  length  of  his 
string  from  his  back  to  Fritz's  shoulder, 
which  he  could  not  afterwards  be  prevailed 
upon  to  leave.  Turk,  who  began  to  be  ac- 
quainted with  the  country,  ran  off  to  meet 
his  companion,  and  shortly. after,  our  much- 
loved  family  appeared  in  sight,  with  demon- 
strations of  unbounded  joy  at  our  safe  return. 
They  advanced  along  by  the  course  of  the 
river,  till  they  on  one  side,  and  we  on  the 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  95 

other,  had  reached  the  place  we  crossed  in 
the  morning.  We  repassed  it  again  in  safety, 
and  threw  ourselves  into  each  other's  arms. 
Scarcely  had  the  young  ones  joined  their 
brother,  than  they  again  began  their  joyful 
exclamations :  "A  monkey,  a  live  monkey ! 
Papa,  mamma,  a  live  monkey  !  Oh,  how  de- 
lightful !  how  happy  shall  we  be  !  How  did 
you  catch  him  ?     YvThat  a  droll  face  he  has  !  " 

—  "He  is  very  ugly,"  said  little  Francis, 
half  afraid  to  touch  him.  — "  He  is  much 
prettier  than  you,"  retorted  Jack;  "only 
see,  he  is  laughing :  I  wish  I  could  see  him 
eat." — "Ah!  if  we  had  but  some  cocoa- 
nut!"  cried  Ernest;  "could  you  not  find 
any  ?  Are  they  nice  ? "  —  "  Have  you  brought 
me  any  milk  of  almonds?"    asked  Francis, 

—  "Have  you  met  with  any  unfortunate  ad- 
venture? "  interrupted  my  wife.  In  this 
manner,  questions  and  exclamations  suc- 
ceeded to  each  other  with  such  rapidity  as 
not  to  leave  us  time  to  answer  them. 

At  length,  when  all  became  a  little  tran- 
quil, I  answered  them  thus  :  "  Most  happy 
am  I  to  return  to  you  again,  my  best  beloved, 
and  God  be  praised  !    without  any  new  mis- 


96  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

fortune.  We  have  even  the  pleasure  of  pre- 
senting you  with  many  valuable  acquisitions  ; 
but  in  the  object  nearest  my  heart,  the  dis- 
covery of  our  ship  companions,  we  have  en- 
tirely failed."  . 

"  Since  it  pleases  God  that  it  should  be 
so,"  said  my  wife,  "let  us  endeavor  to  be  con- 
tent, and  let  us  be  grateful  to  him  for  having 
saved  us  from  their  unhappy  fate,  and  for 
having  once  more  brought  us  all  together :  I 
have  had  much  uneasiness  about  your  safety, 
and  imagined  a  thousand  evils  that  might 
beset  you.  The  day  appeared  an  age.  But 
now  I  see  you  once  more  safe  and  well, ! '  But 
put  down  your  burdens  ;  we  will  all  help  you ; 
for  though  we  have  not  spent  the  day  in  idle- 
ness, we  are  less  fatigued  than  you.  Quick 
then,  my  boys,  and  take  the  loads  from  your 
father  and  your  brother.  Now  then  sit  down, 
and  tell  us  your  adventures." 

Jack  received  my  gun,  Ernest  the  cocoa- 
nuts,  Francis  the  gourd-rinds,  and  my  wife 
my  game-bag.  Fritz  distributed  the  sugar- 
canes,  and  put  his  monkey  on  the  back  of 
Turk,  to  the  great  amusement  of  the  chil- 
dren, at  the  same  time  begging  Ernest  to  re- 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  97 

lieve  him  of  his  gun.  But  Ernest,  ever  care- 
ful of  his  ease,  assured  him,  that  the  large 
heavy  bowls  with  which  he  was  loaded  were 
the  most  he  had  strength  to  carry.  His 
mother,  a  little  too  indulgent  to  his  lazy  hu- 
mor, relieved  him  of  these  ;  and  thus  we  pro- 
ceeded altogether  to  our  tent. 

Fritz  whispered  me,  that  if  Ernest  had 
known  what  the  large  heavy  bowls  were,  he 
would  not  so  readily  have  parted  with  them. 
Then  turning  to  his  brother,  "  Why,  Ernest," 
cried  he,  "  do  you  know  that  these  bowls  are 
cocoa-nuts,  your  dear  cocoa-nuts,  and  full  of 
the  sweet  nice  milk  you  have  so  much  wished 
to  taste?  " 

"  What,  really  and  truly  cocoa-nuts,  bro- 
ther ?  Pray  give  them  to  me,  mother,  I  will 
carry  them,  if  you  please,  and  I  can  carry 
the  gun  too." 

"No,  no,  Ernest,"  answered  his  mother, 
"you  shall  not  tease  us  with  more  of  your 
long-drawn  sighs  about  fatigue :  a  hundred 
paces,  and  you  would  begin  again."  Ernest 
would  willingly  have  asked  his  mother  to  give 
him  the  cocoa-nuts,  and  take  the  gun  herself, 
but  this  he  was  ashamed' to  do:    "I  have 


98  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

only,"  said  he,  "to  get  rid  of  these  sticks, 
and  carry  the  gun  in  my  hand." 

"I  would  advise  you  not  to  find  the  sticks 
heavy,  either,"  said  Fritz,  drily:  "I  know 
you  wiirbe  sorry  if  you  do ;  and  for  this  good 
reason  —  the  sticks  are  sugar-canes  !  " 

"Sugar-canes!  Sugar-canes!"  exclaimed 
they  all ;  and,  surrounding  Fritz,  made  him 
give  them  full  instructions  on  the  sublime  art 
of  sucking  sugar-canes. 

My  wife  also,  who  had  always  entertained 
a  high  respect  for  the  article  of  sugar  in  her 
household  management,  was  quite  astonished, 
and  earnestly  entreated  we  would  inform  her 
of  all  particulars.  I  gave  her  an  account  of 
our  journey  and  our  new  acquisitions,  which 
I  exhibited  one  after  the  other  for  her  in- 
spection. No  one  of  them  afforded  her  more 
pleasure  than  the  plates  and  dishes,  because, 
to  persons  of  decent  habits,  they  were  arti- 
cles of  indispensable  necessity.  We  now  ad- 
journed to  our  kitchen  and  observed  with 
pleasure  the  preparations  for  an  excellent  re- 
past. On  one  side  of  the  fire  was  a  turnspit, 
which  my  wife  had  contrived  by  driving  two 
forked  pieces  of  wood  into  the  ground,  and 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  99 

placing  a  long  even  stick,  sharpened  at  one 
end,  across  them.  By  this  invention  she  was 
enabled  to  roast  fish,  or  other  food,  with  the 
help  of  little  Francis,  who  was  intrusted  with 
the  care  of  turning  it  round  from  time  to 
time.  On  the  occasion  of  our  return,  she 
had  prepared  us  the  treat  of  a  goose,  the  fat 
of  which  ran  down  into  some  oyster-shells 
placed  there  to  serve  the  purpose  of  a  drip- 
ping-pan. There  was,  besides,  a  dish  of  fish, 
which  the  little  ones  had  caught ;  and  the 
iron  pot  was  upon  the  fire,  provided  with  a 
good  soup,  the  odor  of  which  increased  our 
appetite.  By  the  side  of  these  most  exhila- 
rating preparations  stood  one  of  the  casks 
which  we  had  recovered  from  the  sea,  the 
head  of  which  my  wife  had  knocked  out,  so 
that  it  exposed  to  our  view  a  cargo  of  the 
finest  sort  of  Dulch  cheeses,  contained  in 
round  tins.  All  this  display  was  made  to 
excite  the  appetite  of  the  two  travelers,  who 
fared  but  scantily  during  the  day ;  and  I 
must  needs  observe,  that  the  whole  was  very 
little  like  such  a  dinner  as  one  should  expect 
to  see  on  a  desert  island. 

"What  you  call  a  goose,"  said  my  wife, 


100  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

"  is  a  kind  of  wild  bird,  and  is  the  booty  of 
Ernest,  who  calls  by  a  singular  name,  and 
assures  me  that  it  is  good  to  eat." 

"  Yes,  father,  I  believe  that  the  bird  which 
I  have  caught  is  a  kind  of  penguin,  or  we 
might  distinguish  him  by  the  surname  of 
Stupid.  He  showed  himself  to  be  a  bird  so 
destitute  of  even  the  least  degree  of  intelli- 
gence, that  I  killed  him  with  a  single  blow 
with  my  stick." 

"  What  is  the  form  of  his  feet,  and  of  his 
beak?"  asked  I. 

"  His  feet  are  formed  for  swimming ;  in 
other  words,  he  is  what  is  called  web-footed ; 
the  beak  is  long,  small,  and  a  little  curved 
downwards:  I  have  preserved. his  head  and 
neck,  that  you  might  examine  it  yourself;  it 
reminds  me  exactly  of  the  penguin,  described 
as  so  stupid  a  bird  in  my  book  of  natural 
history." 

"You  now  then  perceive,  my  son,  of 
what  use  it  is  to  read,  and  to  extend  our 
knowledge,  particularly  of  the  productions 
of  nature :  by  this  study  and  knowledge, 
we  are  enabled  to  recognize  at  the  moment, 
the    objects    which    chance    throws    in    our 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  101 

way,  whether  we  have  seen  them  before  or 
not.  Tell  me  now  what  birds  there  are 
with  feet  like  those  which  you  have  just  de- 
scribed, and  which  are  so  formed  to  enable 
the  creature  to  strike  the  water  and  prevent 
himself  from  sinking  ?  " 

"  There  are  the  man-of-war  bird,  cormor- 
ants, and  pelicans,  father." 

"  By  what  mark  do  you  distinguish  the 
kind  to  which  you  just  now  said  the  penguin 
or  Stupid  belonged  ?  " 

"Upon  my  word,"  interrupted  his  mother, 
"  I  must  give  the  answer  myself;  and  it  shall 
be  a  petition,  that  you  will  take  some  other 
time  for  your  catechism  on  birds  :  when  once 
you  begin  a  subject,  one  never  sees  the  end 
of  it.  Now  to  my  mind  there  is  a  time  for 
every  thing  :  Ernest  killed  the  bird,  and  was 
able  to  tell  his  kind ;  we  on  our  parts  shall 
eat  him ;  what  more  therefore  is  necessary  ? 
Do  you  not  see,  husband,  that  the  poor  child 
is  thinking  all  the  while  of  his  cocoa-nuts  ?. 
Let  me  intercede  on  his  behalf,  and  prevail 
upon  you  to  let  him  have  the  pleasure  of  ex- 
amining and  tasting  them." 

"  Ah  !     thank    you,    my    good    mother ; 


102  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

I   shall   be    very    glad   if    papa   "will    con- 
sent." 

Father.  — Well,  well,  you  have  my  full  per- 
mission. But  first  you  will  be  obliged  to 
learn  from  Fritz  the  best  manner  of  opening 
them,  so  as  to  preserve  the  milk :  and  one 
word  more ;  I  recommend  to  you  not  to  for- 
get the  young  monkey,  who  has  no  longer  his 
mother's  milk  for  food. 

Jack.  —  I  cannot  prevail  upon  him  to  taste 
a  bit :  I  have  offered  him  every  thing  we 
have. 

Father.  —  This  is  not  surprising,  for  he  has 
not  yet  learned  how  to  eat ;  you  must  feed 
him  with  the  milk  of  cocoa-nuts  till  we  can 
procure  something  more  suitable. 

Jack. — I  will  give  the  poor  little  creature 
my  share  with  all  my  heart. 

Ernest.  — I  have,  however,  the  greatest  de- 
sire to  taste  this  milk  myself,  just  to  know 
what  it  is  like. 

"  And  so  have  I,"  said  the  little  Francis. 

"  However,  gentlemen,  the  monkey  must 
live,"  cried  Jack,  a  little  maliciously. 

"And  we  and  our  children  must  live  too," 
answered  their  mother ;  "  Come  then,  the  sup- 


TILE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  103 

per  is  ready,  and  the  cocoa-nuts  shall  be  for 
the  dessert." 

We  seated  ourselves  on  the  ground;  my 
wife  had  placed  each  article  of  the  repast  in 
one  of  our  new  dishes,  the  neat  appearance  of 
which  exceeded  all  our  expectations.  My 
sons  had  not  patience  to  wait,  but  had  broken 
the  cocoa-nuts,  and  already  convinced  them- 
selves of  their  delicious  flavor  ;  and  then  they 
fell  to  making  spoons  with  the  fragments  of 
the  shells.  The  little  monkey,  thanks  to  the 
kind  temper  of  Jack,  had  been  served  the 
first,  and  each  amused  himself  with  making 
him  suck  the  corner  of  his  pocket  handker- 
chief, dipped  in  the  milk  of  the  cocoa-nut. 
He  appeared  delighted  with  the  treatment  he 
received,  and  we  remarked  with  satisfaction,  ■ 
that  we  should  most  likely  be  able  to  preserve 
him. 

The  boys  were  preparing  to  break  some 
more  of  the  nuts  with  the  hatchet,  after  hav- 
ing drawn  out  the  milk  through  the  three  little 
holes,  when  I  pronounced  the  word  halt,  and 
bade  them  bring  me  a  saw;  —  the  thought 
had   struck    me,  that  by  dividing  the  nuts 

carefully  with  this  instrument,  the  two  halves, 

8 


104  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

"when  scooped,  would  remain  with  the  form  of 
tea  cups  or  basins  already  made  to  our  hands. 
Jack,  who  was  on  every  occasion  the  most  ac- 
tive, brought  me  the  saw.  I  performed  my 
undertaking  in  the  best  manner  I  could,  and 
in  a  short  time  each  of  us  was  provided  with 
a  convenient  receptacle  for  food.  My  wife 
put  the  share  of  soup  which  belonged  to  each 
into  the  new  basins.  The  excellent  creature 
appeared  delighted  that  we  should  no  longer 
be  under  the  necessity,  as  before,  of  scalding 
our  fingers  by  dipping  into  the  pot ;  and  I 
firmly  believe,  that  never  did  the  most  mag- 
nificent service  of  china  occasion  half  the 
pleasure  to  its  possessor,  as  our  utensils,  man-, 
ufactured  by  our  own  hands  from  gourds  and 
cocoa-nuts,  excited  in  the  kind  heart  of  my 
wife.  Fritz  asked  me  if  he  might  not  invite 
our  company  to  taste  his  fine  champagne, 
which  he  said  would  not  fail  to  make  us  all 
the  merrier.  —  "I  have  not  the  least  objec- 
tion," answered  I,  "but  remember  to  taste  it 
yourself  before  you  serve  your  guests."  —  He 
ran  to  draw  out  the  stopple  and  to  taste  it  — 
"How  unfortunate  !  "  said  he,  "it  is  already 
turned  to  vinegar." 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  105 

"  What,  is  it  vinegar  !  "  exclaimed  my  wife  : 
"  How  lucky  !  it  will  make  the  most  delicious 
sauce  for  our  bird,  mixed  with  the  fat  which 
has  fallen  from  it  in  roasting,  and  will  be  as 
good  a  relish  as  a  salad."  No  sooner  said 
than  done.  This  vinegar  produced  from 
cocoa-nut  proved  a  corrective  of  the  wild  and 
fishy  flavor  of  the  penguin.  The  same  sauce 
improved  our  dish  of  fish  also.  Each  boasted 
most  of  what  he  himself  had  been  the  means 
of  procuring :  it  was  Jack  and  Francis  who 
had  caught  the  fish  in  one  of  the  shallows, 
while  Ernest  was  employed  with  very  little 
trouble  to  himself  in  securing  his  penguin  the 
Stupid.  My  poor  wife  had  herself  performed 
the  most  difficult  task  of  all,  that  of  rolling 
the  cask  of  Dutch  cheeses  into  the  kitchen, 
and  then  knocking  out  its  head. 

By  the  time  we  had  finished  our  meal,  the 
sun  was  retiring  from  our  view ;  and  recollect- 
ing how  quickly  the  night  would  fall  upon  us, 
we  were  in  great  haste  to  regain  our  place  of 
rest.  My  wife  had  considerately  collected  a 
tenfold  quantity  of  dry  grass,  which  she  had 
spread  in  the  tent,  so  that  we  anticipated  with 
joy  the  prospect  of  stretching  our  limbs  on  a 


106  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

substance  somewhat  approaching  to  the  qual- 
ity of  matrasses,  while,  the  night  before,  our 
bodies  seemed  to  touch  the  ground.  Our 
flock  of  fowls  placed  themselves  as  they  had 
done  the  preceding  evening ;  we  said  our 
prayers,  and,  with  an  improved  serenity  of 
mind,  lay  down  in  the  tent,  taking  the  young 
monkey  with  us,  who  was  become  the  little 
favorite  of  all.  Fritz  and  Jack  contended 
for  a  short  time  which  should  enjoy  the  honor 
of  his  company  for  the  night ;  and  it  was  at 
last  decided  that  he  should  be  laid  between 
them ;  after  which,  each  would  have  a  hand 
in  covering  him  carefully,  that  he  might  not 
catch  cold.  We  now  all  lay  down  upon  the 
grass,  in  the  order  of  the  night  before,  myselfc 
remaining  last  to  fasten  the  sail-cloth  in  front 
of  the  tent ;  when,  heartily  fatigued  by  the 
exertions  of  the  day,  I,  as  well  as  the  rest, 
soon  fell  into  a  profound  and  refreshing 
sleep. 

But  I  had  not  long  enjoyed  this  pleasing 
state,  when  I  was  awaked  by  the  motion  of 
the  fowls  on  the  ridge  of  the  tent,  and  by  a 
violent  barking  of  our  vigilant  safe-guards, 
the  dogs.     I  was  instantly  on  my  legs ;    my 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  107 

wife  and  Fritz,  who  had  also  been  alarmed, 
got  up  also :  we  each  took  a  gun,  and  sallied 
forth. 

The  dogs  continued  barking  with  the  same 
violence,  and  at  intervals  even  howled.  We 
had  not  proceeded  many  steps  from  the  tent, 
when  to  our  surprise  we  perceived  by  the 
light  of  the  moon  a  terrible  combat.  At 
least  a  dozen  of  jackalls  had  surrounded  our 
brave  dogs,  who  defended  themselves  with 
the  stoutest  courage.  Already  the  fierce 
champions  had  laid  three  or  four  of  their  ad- 
versaries on  the  ground,  while  those  which 
remained  began  a  timid  kind  of  moan,  as  if 
imploring  pity  and  forbearance.  Meanwhile 
they  did  not  the  less  endeavor  to  entangle 
and  surprise  the  dogs,  thus  thrown  off  their 
guard,  and  so  secure  to  themselves  the  ad- 
vantage. But  our% watchful  combatants  were 
not  so  easily  deceived ;  they  took  good  care 
not  to  let  the  enemy  approach  them  too 
nearly. 

I,  for  my  part,  had  apprehended  something 
worse  than  jackalls.  "Wre  shall  soon  man- 
age to  set  these  gentlemen  at  rest,"  said  I. 
"Let  us  fire  both  together,  my  boy;    but  let 


108  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

us  take  care  how  we  aim,  for  fear  of  killing 
the  dogs ;  mind  how  you  fire,  that  you  may 
not  miss,  and  I  shall  do  the  same."  We 
fired,  and  two  of  the  intruders  fell  instantly 
dead  upon  the  sands.  The  others  made  their 
escape ;  but  we  perceived  it  was  with  great 
difficulty,  in  consequence,  no  doubt,  of  being 
wounded.  Turk  and  Flora  afterwards  pur- 
sued them,  and  put  the  finishing  stroke  to 
what  we  had  begun ;  and  thus  the  battle 
ended :  but  the  dogs,  true  Caribbees  by  na- 
ture, made  a  hearty  meal  on  the  flesh  of  their 
fallen  enemies.  My  wife,  seeing  all  quiet, 
entreated  us  to  lie  down  again  and  finish  our 
night's  sleep ;  but  Fritz  asked  me  to  let  hkn 
first  drag  the  jack  all  towards  the  tent,  that 
he  might  exhibit  him  the  next  morning  to  his 
brothers.  I  however  observed  to  Fritz,  that 
if  Turk  and  Flora  were  still  hungry,  we 
ought  to  give  them  this  last  jackall  in  addi- 
tion, as  a  recompense  for  their  courageous 
behavior. 

.  "We  had  now  done  with  this  "affair.  The 
body  of  the  jackall  was  left  on  the  rock,  by 
the  side  of  the  tent,  in  which  were  the  little 
sleepers,  who  had  not  once  awakened  during 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  109 

the  whole  of  the  scene  which  had  been  pass- 
ing. Having,  therefore,  nothing  further  to 
prevent  us,  we  lay  down  by  their  side  till  day 
began  to  break,  and  till  the  cocks,  with  their 
shrill  morning  salutation,  awoke  us  both. 
The  children  being  still  asleep,  afforded  us  an 
excellent  opportunity  to  consult  together  re- 
specting the  plan  we  should  pursue  for  the 
ensuing  day. 


CHAPTER  -V. 

Return  to  the   Wreck. 

I  broke  a  silence  of  some  moments,  with 
observing  to  my  wife,  that  I  could  not  but 
view  with  alarm  the  many  cares,  and  exertions 
to  be  made !  —  "In  the  first  place,  a  journey 
to  the  vessel.  This  is  of  absolute  necessity ; 
at  least,  if  we  would  not  be  deprived  of  the 
cattle  and  other  useful  things,  all  of  which 
from  moment  to  moment  we  risk  losing  by  the 
first  heavy  sea.     What  ought  we  to  resolve 


110  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

upon?  For  example,  should  not  our  very 
first  endeavor  be  the  contriving  a  better  sort 
of  habitation,  and  a  more  secure  retreat  from 
wild  beasts,  also  a  separate  place  for  our  provi- 
sions ?  I  own  I  am  at  a  loss  what  to  begin  first." 

"  All  will  fall  into  the  right  order  by  de- 
grees," observed  my  wife;  " patience  and 
regularity  in  our  plans  will  go  as  far  as  ac- 
tual labor.  I  cannot,  I  confess,  help  shud- 
dering at  the  thought  of  this  voyage  to  the 
vessel ;  but  if  you  judge  it  to  be  of  absolute 
necessity,  it  cannot  be  undertaken  too  soon. 
In  the  meanwhile,  nothing  that  is  immedi- 
ately under  my  own  care  shall  stand  still,  I 
promise  you.  Let  us  not  be  over  anxious 
about  to-morrow :  '  sufficient  unto  the  day  is 
the  evil  thereof.'  These  were  the  words  of 
the  true  friend  of  mankind,  and  let  us  use  so 
wise  a  counsel  for  our  own  benefit." 

"I  will  follow  your  advice,"  said  I,  "and 
without  further  loss  of  time.  You  shall  stay 
here  with  the  three  youngest  boys;  and 
Fritz,  being  so  much  stronger  and  more  in- 
telligent than  the  others,  shall  accompany  me 
in  the  undertaking." 

At  this  moment  I  started  from  my  bed, 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  Ill 

crying  out  loudly  and  briskly,  "  Get  up,  chil- 
dren, get  up  ;  it  is  almost  light,  and  we  have 
some  important  projects  for  to-day;  it  would 
be  a  shame  to  suffer  the  sun  to  find  us  still 
sleeping,  we*  who  are  to  be  the  founders  of  a 
new  colony ! " 

At  these  words  Fritz  sprang  nimbly  out  of 
the  tent,  while  the  young  ones  began  to  gape 
and  rub  their  eyes,  to  get  rid  of  their  sleep- 
iness. Fritz  ran  to  visit  his  jackall,  which 
during  the  night  had  become  cold  and  per- 
fectly stiff.  He  fixed  him  upon  his  legs,  and 
placed  him  like  a  sentinel  at  the  entrance  of 
the  tent,  joyously  anticipating  the  wonder 
and  exclamations  of  his  brothers  at  so  unex- 
pected an  appearance.  But  no  sooner  had 
the  dogs  caught  a  sight  of  him,  than  they  be- 
gan a  howl,  and  set  themselves  in  motion  to 
fall  upon  him  instantly,  thinking  he  was  alive. 
Fritz  had  enough  to  do  to  restrain  them,  and 
succeeded  only  by  dint  of  coaxing  and  perse- 
verance. 

In  the  meantime,  their  barking  had  awaked 
the  younger  boys,  and  they  ran  out  of  the 
tent,  curious  to  know  what  could  be  the  oc- 
casion.     Jack  was  the  first  who  appeared, 


112  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

with  the  young  monkey  on  his  shoulders ;  but 
when  the  little  creature  perceived  the  jackall, 
he  sprang  away  in  terror,  and  hid  himself  at 
the  furthest  extremity  of  the  grass  which 
composed  our  bed,  and  covered 'himself  with 
it  so  completely,  that  scarcely  could  the  tip  of 
his  nose  be  seen. 

The  children  were  much  surprised  at  the 
sight  of  a  yellow-colored  animal  standing 
without  motion  at  the  entrance  of  the  tent. — : 
"  Oh  heavens  !  "  exclaimed  Francis,  and  step- 
ping back  a  few  paces  for  fear;  "it  is  a 
wolf!"  —  "No,  no,"  said  Jack,  going  near 
the  jackall,  and  taking  one  of  his  paws;  "it 
is  a  yellow  dog,  and  he  is  dead ;  he  does  not 
move  at  all."  —  "It  is  neither  a  dog  nor  a 
wolf,  interrupted  Ernest  in  a  consequential 
tone  ;  "  do  you  not  see  that  it  is  the  golden 
fox  ?  "  —  "  Best  of  all,  most  learned  profes- 
sor !  "  now  exclaimed  Fritz.  "  So  you  can 
tell  an-  agouti,  when  you  see  him,  but  you  can- 
not tell  a  jackall ;  for  jackall  is  the  creature 
you  see  before  you,  and  I  killed  him  myself 
in  the  night !  " 

Ernest.  —  In  the  night,   you  say,  Fritz. 
In  your  sleep,  I  suppose 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  113 

Fritz.  —  No,  Mr.  Ernest ;  not  in  my  sleep, 
as  you  so  good-naturedly  suppose,  but  broad 
awake,  and  on  the  watch  to  protect  you  from 
wild  beasts !  But  I  cannot  wonder  at  this 
mistake  in  one  who  does  not  know  the  differ- 
ence between  a  jackall  and  a  golden  fox  ! 

Ernest.  —  You  would  not  have  known  it 
either,  if  papa  had  not  told  you 

"  Come,  come,  my  lads,  I  will  have  no  dis- 
putes," interrupted  I.  "Fritz,  you  are  to 
blame  in  ridiculing  your  brother  for  the  mis- 
take he  made.  Ernest,  you  are  also  to  blame 
for  indulging  that  little  peevishness  of  yours. 
But  as  to  the  animal,  you  all  are  right  and 
all  are  wrong ;  for  he  partakes  at  once  of  the 
nature  of  the  dog,  the  wolf,  and  the  fox." 
The  boys  in  an  instant  became  friends ;  and 
then  followed  questions,  answers,  and  wonder 
in  abundance.  "And  now,  my  boys,  let  me 
remind  you,  that  he  who  begins  the  day  with- 
out first  addressing  the  Almighty,  ought  to 
expect  neither  success  nor  safety  in  his  un- 
dertakings. Let  us  therefore  acquit  our- 
selves of  this  duty  before  we  engage  in  other 
occupations." 

Having  finished  our  prayers,  the  next  thing 


114  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

thought  of  was  breakfast ;  for  the  appetites 
of  young  boys  open  with  their  eyes.  To-day 
their  mother  had  nothing  to  give  them  for 
their  morning  meal  but  some  biscuit,  which 
was  so  hard  and  dry,  that  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty we  could  swallow  it.  Fritz  asked  for  a 
piece  of  cheese  to  eat  with  it,  and  Ernest  cast 
some  searching  looks  on  the  second  cask  we 
had  drawn  out  of  the  sea/ to  discover  whether 
it  also  contained  Dutch  cheeses.  In  a  min- 
ute he  came  up  to  us,  joy  sparkling  in  his 
eyes:  " Father,"  said  he,  "if  we  had  but  a 
little  butter  spread  upon  our  biscuit,  do  you 
not  think  it  would  improve  it  ?  " 

"That  indeed  it  would;  but  —  if — if; 
these  never-ending  ifs  are  but  a  poor  depend- 
ence. For  my  part,  I  had  rather  eat  a  bit 
of  cheese  with  my  biscuit  at  once,  than  think 
of  if 8,  which  bring  us  so  meagre  a  harvest. 

Ernest.  — Perhaps,  though,. the  ifs  may  be 
found  to  be  worth  something,  if  we  were  to 
knock  out  the  head  of  this  cask. 

Father.  —  What  cask,  my  boy?  and  what 
are  you  talking  of? 

Ernest.  —  I  am  talking  of  this  cask,  which 
is  filled  with  excellent  salt  butter.     I  made  a 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  115 

little  opening  in  it  with,  a  knife ;  and  see,  I 
got  out  enough  to  spread  nicely  upon  this 
piece  of  biscuit. 

"  That  glutton  instinct  of  yours  for  once  is 
of  some  general  use,"  answered  I.  "  But  now 
let  us  profit  by  the  event.  Who  will  have 
some  butter  on  his  biscuit  ?  "  The  boys  sur- 
rounded the  cask  in  a  moment,  while  I  was  in 
some  perplexity  as  to  the  best  method  of  get- 
ting at  the  contents.  Fritz  was  for  taking  off 
the  topmost  hoop,  and  thus  loosening  one  of 
the  ends.  But  this  I  objected  to,  observing 
that  the  great  heat  of  the  sun  would  not  fail 
to  melt  the  butter,  which  would  then  run  out, 
and  be  wasted.  The  idea  occurred  to  me, 
that  I  would  make  a  hole  in  the  bottom  of  the 
cask,  sufficiently  large  to  take  out  a  small 
quantity  of  butter  at  a  time  ;  and  I  set  about 
manufacturing  a  little  wooden  shovel  to  use 
for  the  purpose.  All  this  succeeded  vastly 
well,  and  we  sat  down  to  breakfast,  some  bis- 
cuits and  a  cocoa-nut  shell  full  of  salt  butter 
being  placed  upon  the  ground,  round  which 
we  all  assembled.  We  toasted  our  biscuit, 
and,  while  it  was  hot,  applied  the  butter,  and 
contrived  to  make  a  hearty  breakfast. 


116  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

"  One  of  the  things  we  must  not  forget  to 
look  for  in  the  vessel,"  said  Fritz,  "is  a  spiked 
collar  or  two  for  our  clogs,  as  a  protection  to 
them  should  they  again  be  called  upon  to  de- 
fend themselves  from  wild  beasts,  which  I  fear 
is  too  probable  will  be  the  case." 

"Oh!"  says  Jack,  "  I  can  make  spiked  col- 
lars, if  my  mother  will  give  me  a  little  help." 
"  That  I  will,  most  readily,  my  boy ;  for  I 
should  like  to  see  what  new  fancy  has  come 
into  your  head,"  cried  she. 

"Yes,  yes,"  pursued  I,  "as  many  new  in- 
ventions as  you  please;  you  cannot  better 
employ  your  time ;  and  if  you  produce  some- 
thing useful,  you  will  be  rewarded  with  the 
commendations  of  all.  But  now  for  work. 
You,  Mr.  Fritz,  who  from  your  superior  age 
and  discretion,  enjoy  the  high  honor  of  being 
my  privy  counselor,  must  make  haste  and  get 
yourself  ready,  and  we  will  undertake  to-day 
our  voyage  to  the  vessel,  to  bring  away  what- 
ever may  be  possible.  Y"ou  younger  boys  will 
remain  here,  under  the  wing  of  your  kind 
mother :  I  hope  I  need  not  mention,  that  I 
rely  on  your  perfect  obedience  to  her  will,  and 
general  good  behavior." 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  117 

While  Fritz  was  getting  the  boat  ready,  I 
looked  about  for  a  pole,  and  tied  a  piece  of 
white  linen  to  the  end  of  it :  this  I  drove  into 
the  ground,  in  a  place  where  it  would  be  vis- 
ible from  the  vessel ;  and  I  concerted  with  my 
wife,  that  in  case  of  any  accident  that  should 
require  my  prompt  assistance,  they  should 
take  down  the  pole  and  fire  a  gun  three  times 
as  a  signal  of  distress,  in  consequence  of 
which  I  would  immediately  turn  back.  But  I 
gave  her  notice,  that  there  being  so  many 
things  to  accomplish  on  board  the  vessel,  it 
was  probable  that  we  should  not  otherwise  re- 
turn at  night ;  in  which  case  I,  on  my  part, 
also  promised  to  make  signals.  My  wife  had 
the  good  sense  and  the  courage  to  consent  to 
my  plan.  She,  however,  extorted  from  me  a 
promise  that  wTe  should  pass  the  night  in  our 
tubs,  and  not  on  board  the  ship.  We  took 
nothing  with  us  but  our  guns  and  a  recruit  of 
powder  and  shot,  relying  that  we  should  find 
provisions  on  board ;  yet  I  did  not  refuse  to 
indulge  Fritz  in  the  wish  he  expressed,  to  take 
the  young  monkey,  as  he  wished  to  see  how 
the  little  creature  would  like  some  milk  from 
the  cow,  or  from  a  goat. 


118  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

We  embarked  in  silence,  casting  our  anx- 
ious looks  on  the  beloved  objects  we  were 
quitting.  Fritz  rowed  steadily,  and  I  did  my 
best  to  second  his  endeavors,  by  rowing  from 
time  to  time,  on  my  part,  with  the  oar  which 
served  me  for  a  rudder.  When  we  had  gone 
some  distance,  I  remarked  a  current  which 
was 'visible  a  long  way.  To  take  advantage 
of  this  current,  and  to  husband  our  strength 
by  means  of  it,  was  my  first  care.  Little  as 
I  knew  of  the  management  of  sea  affairs,  I 
succeeded  in  keeping  our  boat  in  the  direction 
in  which  it  ran,  by  which  means  we  were 
drawn  gently  on,  till  at  length  the  gradual 
diminution  of  its  force  obliged  us  again  to 
have  recourse  to  our  oars  ;  but  our  arms  hav- 
ing now  rested  for  some  time,  we  were  ready 
for  new  exertions.  A  little  afterwards  we 
found  ourselves  safely  arrived  at  the  cleft  of 
the  vessel,  and  fastened  our  boat  securely  to 
one  of  its  timbers. 

Fritz  the  first  thing  went  with  his  young 
monkey  on  his  arm  to  the  main  deck,  where 
he  found  all  the  animals  we  had  left  on  board 
assembled.  I  followed  him,  well  pleased  to 
observe  the  generous  impatience  he  showed 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  119 

to  relieve  the  wants  of  the  poor  abandoned 
creatures,  who,  one  and  all,  now  saluted  us  by 
the  sounds  natural  to  its  species  !  It  was  not 
so  much  the  want  of  food,  as  the  desire  of 
seeing  their  accustomed  human  companions, 
which  made  them  manifest  their  joy  in  this 
manner,  for  they  had  a  portion  of  the  food 
and  water  we  had  left  them  still  remaining. 
The  first  thing  we  did  was  to  put  the  young 
monkey  to  one  of  the  goats,  that  he  might 
suck ;  and  this  he  did  with  such  evident 
pleasure,  and  such  odd  grimaces,  that  he  af- 
forded us  much  amusement.  We  next  ex- 
amined the  food  and  water  of  the  other  ani- 
mals, taking  away  what  was  half  spoiled,  and 
adding  a  fresh  supply,  that  no  anxiety  on 
their  account  might  interrupt  our  enterprise. 
Nor  did  we  neglect  the  care  of  renewing  our 
own  strength  by  a  plentiful  repast. 

While  we  were  seated,  and  appeasing  the 
calls  of  hunger,  Fritz  and  I  consulted  what 
should  be  our  first  occupation  ;  when,  to  my 
surprise,  the  advice  he  gave  was,  that  we 
should  contrive  a  sail  for  our  boat.  —  "In  the 
name  of  Heaven,"  cried  I,  "what  makes  you 
think  of  this  at  so  critical  a  moment,  when 
L  9 


120  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  K0BINS0N. 

we  have  so  many  tilings  of  indispensable 
necessity  to  arrange?"  —  "True,  father," 
said  Fritz  ;  "  but  let  me  confess  that  I  found 
it  very  difficult  to  row  for  so  long  a  time, 
though  I  assure  you  I  did  my  best,  and  did 
not  spare  my  strength.  I  observed  that, 
though  the  wind  blew  strong  in  my  face,  the 
current  still  carried  us  on.  Now,  as  the  cur- 
rent will  be  of  no  use  in  our  way  back,  I  was 
thinking  that  we  might  make  the  wind  supply 
its  place.  Our  boat  will  be  very  heavy  when 
we  have  loaded  it  with  all  the  things  we  mean 
to  take  away,  and  I  am  afraid  I  shall  not  be 
strong  enough  to  row  to  land :  so  do  you  not 
think  that  a  sail  would  be  a  good  thing  just 
now?" 

"Ah  ha,  Mr.  Fritz!  You  wish  to  spare 
yourself  a  little  trouble,  do  you  ?  But  seri- 
ously, I  perceive  much  good  sense  in  your  ar- 
gument, and  feel  obliged  to  my  privy  coun- 
selor for  his  good  advice.  The  best  thing  we 
can  do  is,  to  take  care  and  not  overload  the 
boat,  and  thus  avoid  the  danger  of  sinking,  or 
of  being  obliged  to  throw  some  of  our  stores 
overboard.  We  will,  however,  set  to  work 
upon  your  sail ;  it  will  give  us  a  little  trouble. 
But  come,  let  us  begin." 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  121 

I  assisted  Fritz  to  carry  a  pole  strong 
enough  for  a  mast,  and  another  not  so  thick, 
for  a  sailyard.  I  directed  him  to  make  a 
hole  in  a  plank  with  a  chisel,  large  enough 
for  the  mast  to  stand  upright  in  it.  I  then 
went  to  the  sail  room,  and  cut  a  large  sail 
down  to  a  triangular  shape :  I  made  holes 
along  the  edges,  and  passed  cords  through 
them.  We  then  got  a  pulley,  and  with  this  and 
some  cords,  and  some  contrivance  in  the  man- 
agement of  our  materials,  we  produced  a  sail. 

Fritz,  after  taking  observations  through  a 
telescope  of  what  was  passing  on  land,  and 
which  we  had  already  done  several  times,  im- 
parted the  agreeable  tidings  that  all  was  still 
well  with  our  dear  family.  He  had  distin- 
guished his  mother  walking  tranquilly  along 
the  shore.  He  soon  after  brought  me  a  small 
streamer,  which  he  had  cut  from  a  piece  of 
linen,  and  which  he  entreated  me  to  tie  to 
the  extremity  of  the  mast,  as  much  delighted 
with  the  streamer  as  with  the  sail  itself.  He 
gave  to  our  machine  the  name  of  The  Deliv- 
erance ;  and  in  speaking  of  it,  instead  of  call- 
ing it  a  boat,  it  had  now  always  the  title  of 
the  little  vessel. 


122  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

"But  now,  father,"  said  Fritz,  looking 
kindly  on  me  as  he  spoke,  "  as  you  have 
eased  me  of  the  labor  of  rowing,  it  is  my  turn 
to  take  care  of  you.  I  am  thinking  to  make 
you  a  better  contrived  rudder  ;  one  that  would 
enable  you  to  steer  the  boat  both  with  greater 
ease  and  greater  safety."  —  "Your  thought 
would  be  a  very  good  one,"  said  I,  "but  that 
I  am  unwilling  to  lose  the  advantage  of  being 
able  to  proceed  this  way  and  that,  without 
being  obliged  to  veer.  I  shall  therefore  fix 
our  oars  in  such  a  manner  as  to  enable  me  to 
steer  the  raft  from  either  end."  Accord- 
ingly, I  fixed  bits  of  wood,  to  the  stem  and 
stern  of  the  machine,  in  the  nature  of  grooves, 
which  were  calculated  to  spare  us  a  great 
deal  of  trouble. 

During  these  exertions  the  day  advanced, 
and  I  saw  that  we  should  be  obliged  to  pass 
the  night  in  our  tubs,  without  much  progress 
in  our  task  of  emptying  the  vessel.  We  had 
promised  our  family  to  hoist  a  flag  as  a  sig- 
nal, if  we  passed  the  night  from  home,  and 
we  found  the  streamer  precisely  the  thing  we 
wanted  for  this  purpose. 

We  employed  the  remnant  of  the  day  in 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  123 

emptying  the  tubs  of  the  useless  ballast  of 
stones,  and  putting  in  their  place  what  would 
be  of  service,  such  as  nails,  pieces  of  cloth, 
and  different  kinds  of  utensils,  &c,  &c.  The 
Vandals  themselves  could  not  have  made  a 
more  complete  pillage  than  we  had  done.  The 
prospect  before  us  of  an  entire  solitude,  made 
us  devote  our  attention  to  the  securing  as 
much  powder  and  shot  as  we  could,  as  a 
means  of  catching  animals  for  food,  and  of 
defending  ourselves  against  wild. beasts  to  the 
latest  moment  possible.  Utensils  for  every 
kind  of  workmanship,  of  which  there  was  a 
large  provision  in  the  ship,  were  also  objects 
of  incalculable  value  to  us.  The  vessel  which 
was  now  a  wreck,  had  been  sent  out  as  a 
preparation  for  the  establishment  of  a  colony 
in  the  South  Seas,  and  had  been  provided 
with  a  variety  of  stores  not  commonly  in- 
cluded in  the  loading  of  a  ship.  Among  the 
rest  care  had  been  taken  to  have  on  board 
considerable  numbers  of  European  cattle; 
but  so  long  a  voyage  had  proved  unfavorable 
to  the  oxen  and  the  horses,  the  greatest  part 
of  which  had  died,  and  the  others  were  in  so 
bad  a  condition,  that  it  had  been  found  ne- 


124  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   KOBINSON. 

cessary  to  destroy  them.     The  quantity  of 
useful  things  which  presented  themselves  in 
the  store-chambers  made  it  difficult  for  me  to 
select   among  them,   and  I  much  regretted 
that    circumstances   compelled   me    to  leave 
some  of  them  behind.      Fritz,  however,  al- 
ready meditated  a  second  visit ;  but  we  took 
good  care  not  to  lose  the  present  occasion  for 
securing  knives  and  forks  and  spoons,  and  a 
complete  assortment  of  kitchen  utensils.     In 
the  captain's  cabin  we  found  some  services  of 
silver,    dishes    and   plates    of    high-wrought 
metal,  and  a  little  chest  filled  with  bottles  of 
many  sorts  of  excellent  wine.     Each  of  these 
we  put  into  our  boat.     We  next  descended  to 
the  kitchen,  which  we  stripped  of  gridirons, 
kettles,  pots  of  all  kinds,  a  small  roasting- 
jack,  &c.  Our  last  prize  was  a  chest  of  choice 
eatables,  intended  for  the  table  of  the  officers, 
containing  Westphalia   hams,   Bologna  sau- 
sages, and  other  savory  food.     I  took  good 
care  not  to  forget  some  little  sacks  of  maize, 
of  wheat,  and  other  grain,  and  some  potatoes. 
We   next   added   such   implements  for  hus- 
bandry as  we    could   find  ;  —  shovels,  hoes, 
spades,  rakes,  harrows,  &.,   &e.      Fritz  re- 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  125 

minded  me  that  we  had  found  sleeping  on  the 
ground  both  cold  and  hard,  and  prevailed 
upon  me  to  increase  our  cargo  by  some  ham- 
mocks, and  a  certain  number  of  blankets : 
and  as  guns  had  hitherto  been  the  source  of 
his  pleasures,  he  added  such  as  he  could  find 
of  a  particular  costliness  or  structure,  to- 
gether with  some  sabres  and  clasp-knives. 
The  last  articles  we  took  were  a  barrel  of 
sulphur,  a  quantity  of  ropes,  some  small 
string,  and  a  large  roll  of  sail-cloth.  The 
vessel  appeared  to  us  to  be  in  so  wretched  a 
condition,  that  the  least  tempest  must  make 
her  go  to  pieces.  It  was  then  quite  uncer- 
tain whether  we  should  be  able  to  approach 
her  any  more. 

Our  cargo  was  so  large,  that  the  tubs  were 
filled  to  the  very  brim,  and  no  inch  of  the 
boat's  room  was  lost.  The  first  and  last  of 
the  tubs  were  reserved  for  Fritz  and  me  to 
seat  ourselves  in  and  row  the  boat,  which  sunk 
so  low  in  the  water,  that,  if  the  sea  had  not 
been  quite  calm,  we  should  have  been  obliged 
to  ease  her  of  some  of  the  loading :  we,  how- 
ever, used  the  precaution  of  putting  on  our 
swimming- jackets,  for  fear  of  any  misfortune. 


126  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

It  -will  easily  be  imagined  that  the  day  had 
been  laboriously  employed.  .Night  suddenly 
surprised  us,  and  we  lost  all  hope  of  return- 
ing to  our  family  the  same  evening.  A  large 
blazing  fire  on  the  shore  soon  after  greeted  our 
sight, — the  signal  agreed  upon  for  assuring 
us  that  all  was  well,  and  to  bid  us  close  our 
eyes  in  peace.  We  returned  the  compliment, 
by  tying  four  lanterns  with  lights  in  them  to 
our  mast-head.  This  was  answered,  on  their 
part,  by  the  firing  of  two  guns ;  so  that  both 
parties  had  reason  to  be  satisfied  and  easy. 

After  offering  up  our  earnest  prayers  for 
the  safety  of  all,  and  not  without  some  appre- 
hension for  our  own,  we  resigned  ourselves  to 
sleep  in  our  tubs,  which  appeared  to  us  safer 
than  the  vessel.  Our  night  passed  tranquilly 
enough :  my  boy  Fritz  slept  as  soundly  as  if 
he  had  been  in  a  bed ;  while  I,  haunted  by 
the  recollection  of  the  nocturnal  visit  of  the 
jackalls,  could  neither  close  my  eyes,  nor  keep 
them  from  the  direction  of  the  tent.  I  had 
however,  great  reliance  that  my  valiant  dogs 
would  do  their  duty,  and  was  thankful  to 
Heaven  for  having  enabled  us  to  preserve  so 
good  a  protection. 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  12' 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  Troop  of  Animals  in  Cork  Jackets. 

Early  the  next  morning,  though  scarcely 
light,  I  mounted  the  vessel,  hoping  to  gain  a 
sight  of  our  beloved  companions  through  a 
telescope.  Fritz  prepared  a  substantial  break- 
fast of  biscuit  and  ham ;  but  before  we  sat 
down,  we  recollected  that  in  the  captain's 
cabin  we  had  seen  a  telescope  of  a  much  su- 
perior size  and  power,  and  we  speedily  con- 
veyed it  to  the  deck.  While  this  was  doing, 
the  brightness  of  the  day  had  come  on.  I 
fixed  my  eye  to  the  glass,  and  discovered  my 
wife  coming  out  of  the  tent  and  looking  at- 
tentively  towards  the  vessel,  and  at  the  same 
moment  perceived  the  motion  of  the  flag  upon 
the  shore.  A  load  of  anxiety  was  thus  taken 
from  my  heart ;  for  I  had  the  certainty  that 
all  were  in  good  health,  and  had  escaped  the 
dangers  of  the  night.  —  "Now  that  I  have 


128  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

had  a  sight  of  your  mother,"  said  I  to  Fritz, 
"my  next  concern  is  for  the  animals  on  board ; 
let  us  endeavor  to  save  the  lives  of  some  of 
them,  at  least,  and  to  take  them  with  us." 

"  Would  it  be  possible  to  make  a  raft,  to 
get  them  all  upon  it,  and  in  this  way  get 
them  to  shore?  "  asked  Fritz. 

"  But,  what  a  difficulty  in  making  it,  and 
how  could  we  induce  a  cow,  an  ass,  and  a 
sow,  either  to  get  upon  a  raft,  or,  when  there, 
to  remain  motionless  and  quiet  ?  The  sheep 
and  goats  one  might  perhaps  find  means  to 
remove,  they  being  of  a  more  docile  temper ; 
but  for  the  larger  animals,  I  am  at  a  loss  how 
to  proceed." 

"  My  advice,  father,  is  to  tie  a  long  rope 
round  the  sow's  neck,  and  throw  her  without 
ceremony  into  the  sea :  her  immense  weight 
will  be  sure  to  sustain  her  above  water.;  and 
we  can  draw  her  after  the  boat." 

"  Your  idea  is  excellent ;  but  unfortunately 
it  is  of  no  use  but  for  the  pig ;  and  she  is  the 
one  I  care  the  least  about  preserving." 

"  Then  here  is  another  idea,  father :  let 
us  tie  a  swimming-jacket  round  the  body  of 
each  animal,  anJ  contrive  to  throw  one  and 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  129 

all  into  the  water ;  you  will  see  that  they  "will 
swirn  like  fish,  and  we  can  draw  them  after 
us  in  the  same  manner. 

"  Eight,  very  right,  my  boy ;  your  inven- 
tion is  admirable :  let  us  therefore  not  lose  a 
moment  in  making  the  experiment." 

We  hastened  to  the  execution  of  our  de- 
sign :  we  fixed  a  jacket  on  one  of  the  lambs, 
and  threw  it  into  the  sea ;  and  full  of  anxious 
curiosity,  I  followed  the  poor  beast  with  my 
eyes.  He  sunk  at  first,  and  I  thought  him 
drowned ;  but  he  soon  re- appeared,  shaking 
the  water  from  his  head,  and  in  a  few  sec- 
onds he  had  learned  completely  the  art  of 
swimming.  After  another  interval,  we  ob- 
served that  he  appeared  fatigued,  gave  up  his 
efforts,  and  suffered  himself  to  be  borne  along 
by  the  course  of  the  water,  which  sustained 
and  conducted  him  to  our  complete  satisfac- 
tion.—  "Victory!"  exclaimed  I,  hugging 
my  boy  with  delight:  "these  useful  animals 
are  all  our  own;  let  us  not  lose  a  moment  in 
adopting  the  same  means  with  those  that  re- 
main ;  but  take  care  not  to  lose  our  little 
lamb."  Fritz  now  would  have  jumped  into 
tlio  water  to  follow  the  poor  creature,  who 


130  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

was  still  floating  safely  on  the  surface ;  but  I 
stopped  him  till  I  had  seen  him  tie  on  a  swim- 
ming-jacket. He  took  with  him  a  rope,  first 
making  a  slip  knot  in  it,  and,  soon  overtaking 
the  lamb,  threw  it  round  his  neck,  and  drew 
him  back  to  our  boat ;  and  then  took  him  out 
of"  the  water. 

We  next  got  four  small  water-butts.  I 
emptied  them,  and  then  carefully  closed  them 
again ;  I  united  them  with  a  large  piece  of 
sail-cloth,  nailing  one  end  to  each  cask.  I 
strengthened  this  with  a  second. piece  of  sail- 
cloth, and  this  contrivance  I  destined  to  sup- 
port the  cow  and  the  ass,  two  casks  to  each, 
the  animal  being  placed  in  the  middle  with  a 
cask  on  either  side.  I  added  a  thong  of 
leather,  stretching  from  the  casks  across  the 
breast  and  haunches  of  the  animal,  to  make 
the  whole  secure ;  and  thus,  in  less  than  an 
hour,  both  my  cow  and  my  ass  were  equipped 
for  swimming. 

It  was  next  the  turn  of  the  smaller  animals : 
of  these,  the  sow  gave  us  the  most  trouble ; 
we  were  first  obliged  to  put  on  her  a  muzzle 
to  prevent  her  biting;  and  then  we  tied  a 
large  piece  of  cork  under  her  body.      The 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  131 

sheep  and  goats  were  more  accommodating, 
and  we  had  soon  accoutred  them  for  our  ad- 
venture. And  now  we  had  succeeded  in  as- 
sembling our  whole  company  on  the  deck,  in 
readiness  for  the  voyage :  we  tied  a  cord  to 
either  the  horns  or  the  neck  of  each  animal, 
and  to  the  other  end  of  the  cord  a  piece  of 
wood  similar  to  the  mode  used  for  marking 
nets,  that  it  might  be  easy  for  us  to  take  hold 
of  the  ropes,  and  so  draw  the  animal  to  us  if 
it  should  be  necessary.  We  struck  away  some 
more  of  the  shattered  pieces  of  wood  from  the 
fissure  of  the  vessel,  by  which  we  were  again 
to  pass.  We  began  our  experiment  with  the 
ass,  by  conducting  him  as  near  as  possible  to 
the  brink  of  the  vessel,  and  then  suddenly 
shoving  him  off.  He  fell  into  the  water,  and 
for  a  moment  disappeared ;  but  we  soon  saw 
him  rise,  and  in  the  action  of  swimming  be- 
tween his  two  barrels,  with  a  grace  which 
really  merited  our  commendation. 

Next  came  the  cow's  turn  ;  and  as  she  was 
infinitely  more  valuable  than  the  ass,  my 
fears  increased  in  due  proportion.  The  ass 
had  swum  so  courageously,  that  he  was  al- 
ready at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  ves 


132  THE    SWISS     FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

sel,  so  that  there  was  sufficient  room  for  our 
experiment  on  the  cow.  We  had  more  diffi- 
culty in  pushing  her  overboard,  but  she 
reached  the  water  in  as  much  safety  as  the 
ass  had  done  before ;  she  did  not  sink  so  low 
in  it,  and  was  no  less  perfectly  sustained  by 
the  empty  barrels ;  and  she  made  her  way 
with  gravity,  and,  if  I  may  so  express  it,  a 
sort  of  dignified  composure.  According  to 
this  method  we  proceeded  with  our  whole 
troop,  throwing  them  one  by  one  into  the 
water,  where  by  and  by  they  appeared  in  a 
group  floating  at  their  ease,  and  seemingly 
well  content.  The  sow  was  the  only  excep- 
tion ;  she  became  quite  furious,  set  up  a  loud 
squalling,  and  struggled  with  so  much  vio- 
lence in  the  water,  that  she  was  carried  to  a 
considerable  distance,  but  fortunately  in  a 
direction  towards  the  landing-place  we  had  in 
view.  We  had  now  not  a  moment  to  lose. 
Our  last  act  was  to  put  on  our  cork-jackets ; 
and  then  we  descended,  without  accident, 
through  the  cleft,  took  our  station  in  the  boat, 
and  were  soon  in  the  midst  of  our  troop  of 
quadrupeds.  We  carefully  gathered  all  the 
floating  bits  of  wood,  and  fastened  them  to 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  133 

the  stern  of  the  machine,  and  thus  drew  them 
after  us.  When  every  thing  was  adjusted, 
and  our  company  in  order,  we  hoisted  our  sail, 
which  soon  filling  with  a  favorable  wind,  con- 
ducted us  all  safe  to  the  land. 

We  now  perceived  how  impossible  it  would 
have  been  for  us  to  have  succeeded  in  our  en- 
terprise without  the  aid  of  a  sail;  for  the 
weight  of  so  many  animals  sunk  the  boat  so 
low  in  the  water,  that  all  our  exertions  to 
row  to  such  a  distance  would  have  been  inef- 
fectual ;  while,  by  means  of  the  sail,  she  pro- 
ceeded completely  to  our  satisfaction,  bearing 
in  her  train  our  company  of  animals ;  nor 
could  we  help  laughing  heartily  at  the  singu- 
lar appearance  we  made.  Proud  of  the  suc- 
cess of  so  extraordinary  a  feat,  we  were  in 
high  spirits,  and  seated  ourselves  in  the  tubs, 
where  we  made  an  excellent  dinner.  Frits 
amused  himself  with  the  monkey  while  I  was 
occupied  in  thinking  of  those  I  had  left  on 
land,  and  of  whom  I  now  tried  to  take  a  view 
through  my  telescope.  My  last  act  on  board 
the  vessel  had  been  to  take  one  look  more  at 
those  beloved  beings,  and  I  perceived  my  wife 
and  the  three  boys  all  in  motion,  and  seeming 


134  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

to  be  setting  out  on  some  excursion ;  but  it 
was  in  vain  that  I  endeavored,  by  any  thing 
I  saw,  to  conjecture  what  their  plan  might  be. 
I  therefore  seized  the  first  moment  of  quiet  to 
make  another  trial  with  my  glass,  when  a 
sudden  exclamation  from  Fritz  filled  me  with 
alarm.  —  "  Oh  Heavens  !  "  cried  he,  "  we  are 
lost !  "  a  fish  of  enormous  size  is  coming  up  to 
the  boat."  —  "  And  why  lost?"  said  I,  half 
angry,  and  yet  half  partaking  of  his  fright. 
"Be  ready  with  your  gun,  and  the  moment 
he  is  close  upon  us,  we  will  fire  upon  him." 
He  had  nearly  reached  the  boat,  and  with  the 
rapidity  of  lightning  had  seized  the  foremost 
sheep :  at  this  instant  Fritz  aimed  his  fire  so 
skilfully,  that  the  balls  of  the  gun  were 
lodged  in  the  head  of  the  monster,  which  was 
an  enormous  shark.  The  fish  half  turned 
himself  round  in  the  water  and  hurried  oft"  to 
sea,  leaving  us  to  observe  the  lustrous  smooth- 
ness of  his  belly,  and  that  as  he  proceeded  he 
stained  the  water  red,  which  convinced  us  he 
had  been  severely  wounded.  I  determined  to 
have  the  best  of  our  guns  at  hand  the  rest  of 
the  way,  lest  we  should  be  again  attacked  by 
the  same  fish,  or  another  of  his  species. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  135 

The  animal  being  now  out  of  sight  and  our 
fears  appeased,  I  resumed  the  rudder;  and 
as  the  wind  drove  us  straight  towards  the  bay, 
I  took  down  the  sail,  and  continued  rowing 
till  we  reached  a  convenient  spot  for  our  cat- 
tle to  land.  I  had  then  only  to  untie  the 
end  of  the  cords  from  the  boat,  and  they 
stepped  contentedly  on  shore.  Our  voyage 
thus  happily  concluded,  we  followed  their  ex- 
ample. 

I  had  already  been  surprised  and  uneasy 
at  finding  none  of  my  family  looking  out  for 
us  on  the  shore ;  we  could  not,  however,  set 
out  in  search  of  them,  till  we  had  disencum- 
bered our  animals  of  their  swimming  appar- 
atus. Scarcely  had  we  entered  upon  this 
employment,  when  I  was  relieved  by  the  joy- 
ful sounds  which  reached  our  ears,  and  filled 
our  hearts  with  rapture.  It  was  my  wife  and 
the  youngest  boys  who  uttered  them,  the  lat- 
ter of  whom  were  soon  dose  up  to  us,  and 
their  mother  followed  not  many  steps  behind, 
each  and  all  of  them  in  excellent  health,  and 
eager  for  our  salutations.  When  the  first 
burst  of  happiness  at  meeting  had  subsided, 
we  all  sat  down  on  the  grass,  and  I  began  to 

10 


136  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

give  them  an  account  of  our  occupations  in 
the  vessel,  of  our  voyage,  and  of  all  our  dif- 
ferent plans  and  their  success,  in  the  order 
in  which  they  occurred.  My  wife  could  find 
no  words  to  express  her  surprise  and  joy  at 
seeing  so  many  useful  animals  round  us ;  and 
the  hearty  affection  she  expressed  for  them, 
in  language  the  most  simple  and  touching,  in- 
creased my  satisfaction  at  the  completion  of 
our  enterprise. 

"Yes,"  said  Fritz,  a  little  consequentially, 
"for  this  once  the  privy-counsellor  has  tried 
his  talents  at  invention." 

"  This  indeed  is  very  true,"  replied  I;  "in 
all  humility  have  I  to  confess,  that  to  Fritz 
alone  all  praise  belongs,  and  that  to  his  sa- 
gacity it  is  that  we  are  indebted  for  'our  suc- 
cess. His  mother  could  not  refrain  from 
giving  him  a  hearty  kiss.  "  Our  gratitude  is 
due  to  both,"  said  she;  "for  both  have 
labored  to  give  us  the  possession  of  this  troop 
of  animals,  an  acquisition  beyond  any  other, 
agreeable  and  serviceable  to  us  in  the  situa- 
tion in  which  it  has  pleased  Providence  to 
place  us." 

Ernest  and  Jack  now  ran  to  the  boat,  and 


THE  ANIMALS  ASHORE. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  137 

began  to  shout  their  admiration  of  the  mast, 
the  sail,  and  the  flag,  desiring  their  brother 
to  explain  to  them  how  all  the  things  they 
saw  had  been  effected  and  -what  he  himself 
did  of  them.  In  the  meantime  we  began  to 
unpack  our  cargo,  while  Jack  stole  aside  and 
amused  himself  with  the  animals,  took  off 
the  jackets  from  the  sheep  and  goats,  burst- 
ing from  time  to  time  into  shouts  of  laughter 
at  the  ridiculous  figure  of  the  ass,  who  stood 
before  them  adorned  with  his  two  casks  and 
his  swimming  apparatus,  and  braying  loud 
enough  to  make  us  deaf. 

By  and  by  I  perceived,  with  surprise,  that 
Jack  had  round  his  waist  a  belt  of  metal  cov- 
ered with  yellow  skin,  in  which  were  fixed 
two  pistols.  "  In  the  name  of  heaven,"  ex- 
claimed I,  "  where  did  you  procure  this  curi- 
ous costume,  which  gives  you  the  look  of  a 
smuggler?" 

"  From  my  own  manufactory,"  replied  he ; 
"  and  if  you  cast  your  eyes  upon  the  dogs, 
you  will  see  more  of  my  specimens." 

Accordingly  I  looked  at  them,  and  per- 
ceived that  each  had  on  a  collar  similar  to 
the  belt  round  Jack's  waist,  with,  however, 


138  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

the  exception  of  the  collars  being  armed  with 
nails,  the  points  of  which  were  outwards,  and 
exhibited  a  formidable  appearance.  "And 
is  it  you,  Mr.  Jack,"  cried  I,  "who  have  in- 
vented and  executed  these  collars  and  your 
belt?" 

"Yes,  father,  they  are  indeed  my  inven- 
tion, with  a  little  of  my  mother's  assistance 
when  it  was  necessary  to  use  the  needle." 

"But  where  did  you  get  the  leather  and 
the  thread  and  the  needle  ? " 

"Fritz's  Jackall  furnished  the  first,"  an- 
swered my  wife ;  and  as  to  the  last,  a  good 
mother  of  a  family  is  always  provided  with 
them.  Then  have  I  not  an  enchanted  bag, 
from  »which  I  draw  out  such  articles  as  I 
stand  in  need  of?  So,  if  you  have  a  partic- 
ular fancy  for  any  thing,  you  have  only  to 
acquaint  me  with  it."  I  tenderly  embraced 
her,  to  express  my  thanks  for  this  effort  to 
amuse  by  so  agreeable  a  raillery,  and  Jack 
too  came  in  for  his  share  both  of  the  caresses 
and  our  heartv  commendations.  But  Fritz 
was  both  discontented  and  angry  on  finding 
that  Jack  had  taken  upon  him  to  dispose  of 
his  Jackall,  and  to  cut  his  beautiful  skin  into 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  139 

strips.  He,  however,  concealed  his  ill-humor 
as  well  as  he  could ;  but  presently  he  called 
out  suddenly,  holding  his  nose  as  he  spoke, 
"  What  a  filthy  smell !  Does  it  perchance 
proceed  from  you,  Mr.  Currier  ?  Is  this  the 
perfume  we  may  expect  from  your  manufac- 
tory ?  It  is  rather  yours  than  mine,*'  replied 
Jack,  in  a  resentful  tone ;  ">fo£"  it  was  your 
Jackall  which  you  hung  up  in  the  s^fi  to  dry." 
"And  which  would  have  been  dried  in  a 
whole  skin,  if  it  had  not  pleased  your  sublime 
fancy  to  cut  it  to  pieces,  instead*; of  leaving 
me  the  power  to  do  what  I  please  with  my 
own  booty,"  answered  his  brother. 

"Son  Fritz,"  said  I,  in  a  somewhat  angry 
tone,  "  this  is  not  generous  on  your  part.  Of 
what  importance  is  it  who  cut  up  the  skin  of 
the  Jackall,  if  by  so  doing  it  has  contributed 
to  our  use  ?  My  clear  children,  we  are  here 
in  this  desert  island,  in  just  such  a  situation 
as  that  of  our  first  parents  when  they  were 
driven  out  of  the  garden  of  Eden;  it  was 
still  in  their  power  to  enjoy  happiness  in  the 
fertile  land  in  which  God  permitted  them  to 
live ;  and  this  happiness  was  to  proceed  from 
their  obedience,  from  the  work  of  their  hands, 


140  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

and  the  sweat  of  their  brow :  a  thousand  and 
a  thousand  blessings  were  granted  for  their 
use,  but  they  suffered  the  passions  of  jeal- 
ousy, envy,  and  hatred  to  take  root  in  their 
bosoms :  Cain  killed  his  brother  Abel,  and 
thus  plunged  his  unhappy  parents  into  the 
deepest  affliction,  so  that  he  and  his  race  were 
cursed  by  God.  This  is  the  horrid  crime  to 
which  the.'  habit  of  disputing  may  conduct. 
Let  us  then  avoid  such  an  evil,  let  us  share 
one  with  the  other  in  every  benefit  bestowed 
upon  us,  and  from  this  moment  may  the 
words  yours  and  mine  be  banished  from  our 
happy  circle !  What  is  discovered  or  pro- 
cured by  one  of  you,  should  be  equally  for  the 
service  of  all,  and  belong  to  all  without  dis- 
tinction. It  is  quite  certain,  Jack,  that  the 
belt  round  your  waist,  not  being  dry,  has  an 
offensive  smell ;  the  pleasure  of  wearing  what 
you  had  ingeniously  contrived  makes  you  will- 
ing to  bear  with  the  inconvenience :  but  we 
should  never  make  our  own  pleasure  the  pain 
of  another.  I  therefore  desire  that  you  will 
take  it  off  and  place  it  in  the  sun  to  dry,  and 
take  care  that  it  does  not  shrink  during  the 
operation ;  and  then  you  can  join  your  bro- 


THE  SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  141 

thers,  and  assist  them  to  throw  the  jaekall 
into  the  sea." 

Fritz's  ill-humor  was  already  over ;  but 
Jack,  whose  temper  was  less  docile,  still  re- 
tained the  belt,  and  walked  about  in  it  with 
somewhat  of  an  air  of  resistance.  His  bro- 
thers continued  their  warfare,  pretending  to 
avoid  him,  and  crying  out  —  "  What  a  smell ! 
What  a  smell!"  till  at  length  Jack,  tired 
with  the  part  he  had  been  acting,  suddenly 
stripped  off  the  belt,  and  joined  the  others  in 
dragging  the  dead  jaekall  to  the  sea,  where 
he  no  longer  offended  any  one. 

Perceiving  that  no  preparations  were  mak- 
ing for  supper,  I  told  Fritz  to  bring  us  the 
Westphalia  ham.  The  eyes  of  all  were  now 
fixed  upon  me  with  astonishment,  believing 
that  I  could  only  be  in  jest;  when  Fritz 
returned,  displaying  with  exultation  a  large 
ham,  which  we  had  begun  to  cut  in  the  morn- 
ing. "A  ham!"  cried  one  and  all;  "a 
ham  !  and  ready  dressed  !  What  a  nice  sup- 
per we  shall  have  !  "  said  they,  clapping  their 
hands  to  give  a  hearty  welcome  to  the  bearei 
of  so  fine  a  treat.  —  "It  comes  quite  in  tbj| 
nick  of  time  too,"  interrupted  I;    "for,  to 


142  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

judge  by  appearances,  a  certain  careful  stew- 
ard I  could  name  seems  to  have  intended  to 
send  us  supperless  to  bed,  little  thinking,  I 
suppose,  that  a  long  voyage  by  water  is  apt 
to  increase  the  appetite." 

"  I  will  tell  you  presently,"  replied  my 
wife,  "  what  it  was  that  prevented  me  from 
providing  a  supper  for  you  all  at  an  early 
hour :  your  ham,  however,  makes  you  ample 
amends ;  and  I  have  something  in  my  hand 
with  which  I  shall  make  a  pretty  side-dish ; 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  you  shall  see  it 
make  its  entrance."  She  now  showed  us 
about  a  dozen  of  turtle's  eggs,  and  then  hur- 
ried away  to  make  an  omelette  of  some  of 
them. 

"Look,  father,"  said  Ernest,  "if  they  are 
not  the  very  same  which  Robinson  Crusoe 
found  in  his  island  !  See,  they  are  like  white 
balls,  covered  with  a  skin  like  wetted  parch- 
ment !  We  found  them  upon  the  sands  along 
the  shore." 

"  Your  account  is  perfectly  just,  my  dear 
boy,"  said  I:  "  by  what  means  did  you  make 
so  useful  a  discovery  ?  "  —  "  Oh,  that  is  part 
of  our  history,"  interrupted  my  wife ;  "  for  I 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  143 

also  have  a  history  to  relate,  when  you  will 
be  so  good  as  to  listen  to  it." 

"Hasten  then,  my  love,  and  get  your 
pretty  side-dish  ready,  and  we  will  have  the 
history  for  the  desert.  In  the  meantime  I 
will  relieve  the  cow  and  the  ass  from  their 
jackets.  Come  along,  boys,  and  give  me 
your  help.  —  I  got  up,  and  they  all  followed 
me  gaily  to  the  shore.  We  were  not  long  in 
effecting  our  purpose  with  the  cow  and  the 
ass,  who  were  animals  of  a  quiet  and  kind 
temper ;  but  when  it  was  the  sow's  turn,  our 
success  was  neither  so  easy  nor  so  certain ; 
for  no  sooner  had  we  untied  the  rope  than  she 
escaped  from  us,  and  ran  so  fast  that  none 
of  us  could  catch  her.  The  idea  occurred  to 
Ernest  of  sending  the  two  dogs  after  her, 
who  caught  at  her  ears,  and  sent  her  back, 
while  we  were  half  deafened  with  the  hideous 
noise  she  made ;  at  last  she  suffered  us  to 
take  off  her  cork  jacket.  We  now  laid  the 
accoutrements  across  the  ass's  back,  and  re- 
turned to  the  kitchen ;  our  slothful  Ernest 
highly  delighted  that  he  was  likely  in  future 
to  have  our  loads  carried  by  a  servant. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  kind  mother  had  pre- 


144  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

pared  the  omelette,  and  spread  a  table-cloth 
on  the  end  of  the  cask  of  butter,  upon  which 
she  had  placed  some  of  the  plates  and  silver 
spoons  we  had  brought  from  the  ship.  The 
ham  was  in  the  middle,  and  the  omelette  and 
the  cheese  opposite  to  each  other ;  and  alto- 
gether made  a  figure  not  to  be  despised  by 
the  inhabitants  of  a  desert  island.  By  and  by 
the  two  dogs,  the  fowls,  the  pigeons,  the  sheep, 
and  the  goats,  had  all  assembled  round  us, 
which  gave  us  something  like  the  air  of  sov- 
ereigns of  the  country.  It  did  not  please  the 
geese  and  ducks  to  add  themselves  to  the 
number  of  these  our  loyal  subjects  :  they  de- 
serted us  for  a  marshy  swamp,  where  they 
found  a  kind  of  little  crabs  in  great  abun- 
dance, and  which  furnished  a  delicious  food 
for  them,  and  relieved  us  of  the  care  of  pro- 
viding for  their  support. 

When  we  had  finished  our  repast,  I  bade 
Fritz  present  our  company  with  a  bottle  of 
Canary  wine,  which  we  had  brought  from  the 
captain's  cabin,  and  I  desired  my  wife  to  in- 
dulge us  with  the  promised  history. 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  145 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Second  Journey  of  Discovery,  performed  by  the 

Mother  of  the  Family. 

"You  pretend,"  said  my  wife,  with  a  little 
malicious  smile,  "  to  be  curious  about  m  y  his- 
tory, yet  you  have  not  let  me  speak  a  single 
word  in  all  this  time ;  but  the  longer  a  tor- 
rent is  pent  up,  the  longer  it  flows  when  once 
let  loose.  Now  then  that  you  are  in  the  hu- 
mor to  listen,  I  shall  give  vent  to  a  certain 
little  movement  of  vanity  which  is  fluttering 
at  my  heart. — Not,  however,  to  intrude  too 
long  upon  your  patience,  we  will  skip  the  first 
day  of  your  absence,  in  the  course  of  which 
nothing  new  took  place,  except  my  anxiety 
on  your  account,  which  confined  me  for  the 
most  part  to  the  spot  from  whence  you  em- 
barked, and  from  which  I  could  see  the  ves- 
sel. But  this  morning,  when  I  was  made 
happy  by  the  sight  of  your  signal,  and  had 
set  up  mine  in  return,  I  looked  about,  before 


146  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON: 

the  boys  were  up,  in  hopes  to  find  a  shady 
place  where  we  might  now  and  then  re- 
tire from  the  heat  of  the  sun ;  but  I  found 
not  a  single  tree.  This  made  me  reflect  a 
little  seriously  on  our  situation.  —  It  will  be 
impossible,  said  I  to  myself,  to  remain  in  this 
place  wTith  no  shelter  but  a  miserable  tent, 
under  which  the  heat  is  even  more  excessive 
than  without.  Courage  then !  pursued  I ; 
my  husband  and  my  eldest  son  are  at  this 
moment  employed  for  the  general  good ;  why 
should  not  I  be  active  and  enterprising  also  ? 
why  not  undertake,  with  my  youngest  sons, 
to  do  something  that  shall  add  some  one  com- 
fort to  our  existence  ?  I  will  pass  over  with 
them  to  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  with 
my  own  eyes  examine  the  country  respecting 
which  my  husband  and-  Fritz  have  related 
such  wonders.  I  will  try  to  find  out  some 
well-shaded  agreeable  spot,  in  which  we  may 
all  be  settled.  I  now  cast  another  look  to- 
wards the  vessel ;  but  perceiving  no  sign  of 
your  return,  I  determined  to  share  a  slight 
dinner  with  the  boys,  and  then  we  set  out 
resolutely,  on  a  journey  of  discovery  for  a 
habitation  better  sheltered  from  the  sun. 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  147 

"In  the  morning,  Jack  had  slipped  to  the 
side  of  the  tent  where  Fritz  had  hung  the 
jackal],  and  with  his  knife,  which  he  sharp- 
ened from  time  to  time  upon  the  rock,  he  cut 
some  long  strips  of  skin  from  the  hack  of  the 
animal,  and  afterwards  set  ahout  cleaning 
them.  Ernest  discovered  him  in  this  un- 
cleanly occupation ;  and  as  he  is,  as  we  all 
know,  a  little  delicate,  and  afraid  to  soil  his 
fingers,  he  not  only  refused  to  give  Jack  any 
assistance,  but  thought  fit  to  sneer  a  little  at 
the  currier-like  trade  which  he  had  engaged 
in.  ^Fack,  who,  as  we  also  know,  has  not  the 
most  patient  temper  in  the  world,  raised  his 
hand  to  give  him  a  little  cuff.  Ernest  made 
his  escape,  more  alarmed,  I  believe,  by  Jack's 
dirty  hands,  than  by  the  expected  blow : 
while  I,  for  my  part,  ran  to  set  them  right, 
and  to  give  a  mother's  reproof  to  both.  Jack 
persisted  that  he  had  a  justification  full  and 
undeniable  in  the  great  usefulness  of  the  said 
dirty  work;  'for,'  observed  he,  'it  is  in- 
tended to  make  some  collars,  which  I  shall 
arm  with  spikes,  and  the  dogs  will  wear  them 
for  our  defense.'  I  saw  in  an  instant  that 
Ernest  had  been  the  aggressor,  and  on  him 


148  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

fell  the  reproof:  I  represented  how  little  a 
squeamishness  like  his  suited  with  the  diffi- 
culties of  our  situation,  in  which  one  and  all 
were  called  upon  to  assist  in  any  employment 
that  should  promise  to  contribute  to  the  gen- 
eral good. 

"  Jack  returned  to  his  strips  of  skin,  the 
cleaning  of  which  he  completed  very  cleverly. 
When  he  had  finished  this  part  of  his  under- 
taking, he  looked  out  from  the  chest  of  nails 
those  that  were  longest,  and  which  had  the 
largest  and  flattest  heads ;  these  he  stuck 
through  the  bits  of  skin  intended  for  tl*e  col- 
lars, at  small  distances.  He  next  cut  a  strip 
of  sail-cloth  the  same  breadth  as  the  leather, 
and,  laying  it  along  on  the  heads  of  the  nails, 
politely  proposed  to  me  the  agreeable  occu- 
pation of  sewing  them  together,  to  prevent 
the  heads  of  the  nails  from  injuring  the  dogs. 
I  begged  to  be  excused  ;  but  seeing  the  good- 
humor  with  which  he  tried  to  sew  them  for 
himself,  and  that,  with  all  his  good-will,  it 
was  too  hard  a  task,  I  rewarded  him  by  doing 
it  myself ;  —  few  mothers  refuse  the  sacrifice 
of  a  little  personal  convenience,  to  afford  de- 
light to  a  virtuous  child. 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  149 

"  But  now  having  yielded  the  first  time, 
I  found  I  had  made  myself  liable  to  further 
claims.  The  next  thing  was  a  belt  for  him- 
self, which  he  had  manufactured  of  the  same 
materials,  and  was  impatient  to  see  com- 
pleted, it  being  intended  to  contain  his  pis- 
tols. '  We  shall  see,'  said  he,  strutting  about 
as  he  spoke,  'if  the  jackalls  will  dare  to  at- 
tack us  now.'  —  'But,  dear  Jack,  you  do  not 
foresee  what  will  happen ;  —  a  piece  of  skin 
not  entirely  dry  is  always  liable  to  shrink 
when  exposed  to  the  heat ;  so,  after  all,  you 
will  not  be  able  to  make  use  of  it.'  My  little 
workman,  as  I  said  this,  struck  his  forehead, 
and  betrayed  other  marks  of  impatience.  — 
'What  you  say  is  true,'  said  he,  'and  I  had 
not  well  considered ;  but  I  know  of  an  effec- 
tual remedy.'  He  then  took  a  hammer  and 
some  nails,  and  stretched  his  strips  of  leather 
on  a  plank,  which  he  laid  in  the  sun  to  dry 
quickly,  thus  preventing  the  possibility  of 
their  shrinking.  I  applauded  his  invention, 
and  promised  him  I  would  not  fail  to  give 
you  a  full  account  of  his  proceedings. 

"  I  next  assembled  them  round  me,  and 
informed  them  of  my  plans  for  an  excursion, 

11 


150  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

and  you  may  believe  I  heard  nothing  like  a 
dissenting  voice.  They  lost  not  a  moment  in 
preparing  themselves ;  they  examined  their 
arms,  their  game-bags,  looked  out  the  best 
clasp-knives,  and  cheerfully  undertook  to 
carry  the  provision  bags ;  while  I,  for  my 
share,  was  loaded  with  a  large  flask  of  water 
and  a  hatchet,  for  which  I  thought  it  likely 
we  might  find  a  use.  I  also  took  the  light 
gun  which  belongs  to  Ernest,  and  gave  him 
in  return  a  carbine,  which  might  be  loaded 
with  several  balls  at  once.  We  took  some 
refreshment,  and  then  sallied  forth,  attended 
by  the  two  dogs  for  our  escort.  Turk,  who 
had  already  accompanied  you  in  the  same  di- 
rection, seemed  well  aware  that  he  knew  the 
way,  and  proceeded  at  the  head  of  the  party 
in  quality  of  a  conductor.  We  arrived  at 
the  place  at  which  you  had  crossed  the  river, 
and  succeeded  in  passing  over,  though  not 
without  difficulty. 

"As  we  advanced,  I  reflected  that  our 
safety  depended  in  some  measure  on  the  two 
boys,  because  it  was  they  only  who  knew  how 
to  use  the  guns.  I  now  for  the  first  time 
began  to  feel  how  fortunate  it  was  that  you 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  151 

had  accustomed  them  from  infancy  to  face 
danger  of  every  kind ;  but  I  am  now  con- 
vinced that  the  parent  who  adopts  a  hardy 
scheme  of  education  acts  the  wisest  part. 
But  now  for  the  passing  of  the  river. 

"Ernest  was  first  in  reaching  the  other 
side.  The  little  Francis  entreated  me  to 
carry  him  on  my  back,  which  was  difficult 
enough.  At  length  we  found  means  to  manage 
pretty  well,  thanks  to  Jack,  who  relieved  me 
of  my  gun  and  the  hatchet.  But  for  himself, 
finding  he  was  scarcely  able  to  stand  under  his 
added  weight,  he  resolved  to  go  straight  into 
the  water  at  once,  rather  than  run  the  risk 
of  slipping,  by  stepping  on  the  loose  wet 
pieces  of  stone  so  heavily  loaded.  I  myself 
had  great  difficulty  to  keep  myself  steady 
with  the  dear  little  burden  at  my  back,  who 
joined  his  hands  round  my  neck,  and  leaned 
with  all  his  weight  upon  my  shoulders.  Af- 
ter having  filled  my  flask  with  river  water, 
we  proceeded  on  our  way  till  we  had  reached 
to  the  top  of  the  hill  which  you  described  to 
us  as  so  enchanting,  and  where  I  partook  of 
the  pleasure  you  had  experienced.  I  contin- 
ued for  some  time  to  look  around  and  admire 


152  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

in  silence ;  and  for  the  first  time  since  the 
event  of  our  dreadful  accident  at  sea,  I  felt 
my  heart  begin  to  open  to  a  sense  of  enjoy- 
ment and  of  hope. 

"  In  casting  my  eyes  over  the  vast  extent 
before  me,  I  had  observed  a  small  wood  of 
the  most  inviting  aspect.  I  had  so  long 
sighed  for  a  little  shade,  that  I  resolved  to 
bend  our  course  towards  it :  for  this,  how- 
ever, it  was  necessary  to  go  a  long  way 
through  a  strong  kind  of  grass  which  reached 
above  the  heads  of  the  little  boys ;  an  obsta- 
cle which,  on  trial,  we  found  too  difficult  to 
overcome.  We  therefore  resolved  to  walk 
along  the  river,  and  turn  at  last  upon  the 
wood.  We  found  traces  of  your  footsteps, 
and  took  care  to  follow  them  till  we  had  come 
to  a  place  which  seemed  to  lead  directly  to  it ; 
but  here  again  we  were  interrupted  by  the 
height  and  thickness  of  the  grass,  which  noth- 
ing but  the  most  exhausting  endeavors  could 
have  enabled  us  to  get  through.  Jack  was 
now  loitering  a  little  behind,  and  I  frequently 
turned  round  to  observe  what  he  could  be  do- 
ing :  at  last  I  saw  him  tearing  off  some  hand- 
fuls   of  grass,   and  wiping  his  clothes   with 


CROSSING  THE  RIVER. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  153 

it,  and  then  shake  his  pocket-handkerchief, 
which  was  wet,  and  lay  it  on  his  shoulders  to 
dry.  I  hastened  back  to  inquire  what  had 
happened. 

"  '  Oh,  mother,'  said  he,  'I  believe  all  the 
water  of  the  river  we  have  crossed  has  got 
into  my  pockets  :  only  see,  every  thing  I  had 
in  them  is  wet,  pistols,  turfs,  every  thing.' 

"  '  Good  Heavens  ! '  interrupted  I  in  great 
alarm,  'had  you  put  your  pistols  in  your 
pocket  ?     They  were  not  loaded,  I  hope  ?  ' 

"'lam  sure  I  do  not  know,  mother ;  I 
only  put  them  there  while  my  belt  was  dry- 
ing, that  I  might  always  have  them  about  me.' 

"  '  Thoughtless,  yet  fortunate  boy  ! '  ex- 
claimed I.  '  Do  you  know  what  an  escape 
you  have  had  ?  If  with  the  suddenness  of 
your  motions  the  pistols  had  gone  off,  they 
would  infallibly  have  killed  you.  Take  care, 
I  entreat  you,  not  to  commit  such  an  impru- 
dence in  future.'  — '  There  is  nothing,  I  be- 
lieve, to  fear,  mother,  for  this  time,'  replied 
he,  holding  the  pistol  so  as  to  let  the  water 
run  out  of  them.  And  in  reality  I  perceived 
by  the  condition  they  were  in,  that  there  was 
little  danger  of  their  going  off.     While  we 


154  THE    SWISS     FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

were  talking  of  what  had  -happened,  our  at- 
tention was  interrupted  by  a  sudden  noise, 
and  looking  about,  we  perceived  a  large  bird 
rising  from  the  thickest  part  of  the  grass,  and 
mounting  in  the  air.  Each  of  the  boys  pre- 
pared to  fire,  but  before  they  could  be  ready, 
the  bird  was  out  of  the  reach  of  shot.  Er- 
nest was  bitterly  disappointed,  and  instantly 
exchanged  the  gun  for  the  carbine  I  had 
given  him,  crying,  i  "What  a  pity  !  If  I  had 
but  had  the  lightest  gun  !  if  the  bird  had  not 
got  away  so  fast,  I  would  lay  any  wager  I 
should  have  killed  him. 

u  '  The  mischief  was,  no  doubt,  that  you 
did  not  let  him  know  before-hand,  that  it  was 
your  pleasure  he  should  wait  till  you  could 
be  quite  ready,'  observed  I,  laughing. 

"  'But,  mother,  how  could  I  possibly  sup- 
pose that  the  bird  could  fly  away  in  less  than 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye  ?  Ah,  if  one  would 
but  come  at  this  very  moment !  ' 

"  '  A  good  sportsman,  Ernest,  always  holds 
himself  in  readiness,  this  being,  as  I  under- 
stand, one  of  his  great  arts ;  for  you  must 
know,  that  birds  do  not  send  messages  to  give 
notice  of  their  coming.' 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  155 

"'I  wish  I  cotdfl  bat  know,'  said  Jack, 
what  bird  it  was ;  I  never  saw  any  the  least 
like  it.' 

'"lam  sure  it  was  an  eagle,'  said  the  lit- 
tle Francis,  '  for  I  have  read  in  my  book  of 
fables,  that  an  eagle  can  carry  off  a  sheep; 
and  this  bird  was  terribly  large.' 

"  '  0  yes,'  said  Ernest  scoffingly,  l  as  if  all 
large  birds  must  be  eagles !  Why  do  you 
not  know  that  there  are  some  birds  much 
larger  even  than  eagles  ?  The  ostrich,  for 
example,  which  travelers  sometimes  name  the 
Condor  or  the  Candor.  I  must  confess  it 
would  have  afforded  me  the  highest  pleasure 
to  have  examined  this  bird  minutely.' 

"  '  If  you  had  had  time  to  examine  him,  you 
would  have  had  time  to  kill  him,'  said  I ;  '  but 
as  the  opportunity  is  gone,  let  us  look  for  the 
place  in  the  grass  from  which  he  mounted; 
we  may  judge  at  least  of  his  size  by  the  mark 
he  will  have  left  there.'  The  boys  now  all 
scampered  away  to  the  place,  when  suddenly 
a  second  bird,  exactly  like  the  first,  except 
that  he  was  a  little  larger,  rushed  out  with  a 
great  noise  and  mounted  above  their  heads. 

"  The  boys  remained  stupid  with  astonish- 


156  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

merit,  following  him  with  their  eyes  and  open 
mouths  without  speaking  a  word,  while  for 
my  own  part  I  could  not  help  laughing  heart- 
ily. '  Oh !  such  fine  sportsmen  as  we  have 
here  ! '  cried  I :  c  they  will  never  let  us  be  in 
want  of  game,  I  plainly  perceive.  Ah,  if 
one  would  but  come  at  this  very  moment ! ' 
Ernest,  always  a  little  disposed  to  vent  un- 
easiness by  crying,  now  began  to  whimper ; 
while  Jack,  with  a  curious  mixture  of  tragi- 
comic bravery  upon  his  features,  his  eyes 
darting  upon  the  mountain  traveler,  takes  off 
his  hat,  makes  a  profound  bow,  and  roars 
out  as  if  for  the  bird  to  hear:  'Have  the 
goodness,  Mr.  Traveler,  to  indulge  me  once 
more  with  a  little  visit,  only  for  a  single  min- 
ute :  you  cannot  imagine  what  good  sort  of 
people  we  are :  I  entreat  that  we  may  have 

the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  once  again * 

We  now  minutely  examined  the  place  from 
which  the  birds  had  mounted,  and  found  a 
kind  of  large  nest  formed  of  dry  plants,  of 
clumsy  workmanship ;  the  nest  was  empty, 
with  the  exception  of  some  broken  shells  of 
eggs.  I  inferred  from  this,  that  their  young 
had  lately  been  hatched;  and  observing  at 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  157 

this  moment  a  rustling  motion  among  some 
plants  of  shorter  growth,  at  some  distance 
from  the  spot  on  which  we  stood,  I  concluded 
that  the  young  covey  were  scampering  away 
in  that  direction;  but  as  the  motion  soon 
ceased,  we  had  no  longer  a  guide  to  conduct 
us  to  their  retreat.  We  next  reached  a  little 
wood;  and  here  our  son  Ernest  had  an  op- 
portunity of  recognizing  many  of  the  origi- 
nals of  the  engravings  in  his  books  of  natural 
history,  and  of  displaying  his  knowledge,  or 
his  ignorance,  to  his  heart's  content.  A  pro- 
digious quantity  of  unknown  birds  were  skip- 
ping and  warbling  on  the  branches  of  the 
trees,  without  betraying  the  least  alarm  at 
our  vicinity.  The  boys  wanted  to  fire  on 
them ;  but  this  I  absolutely  forbade,  and  with 
the  less  scruple  as  the  trees  were  of  so  enor- 
mous a  height  as  to  be  out  of  gun-shot  reach. 
No,  my  dear  husband,  you  cannot  possibly 
form  an  idea  of  the  trees  we  now  beheld! 
You  must  somehow  have  missed  this  wood; 
or  so  extraordinary  a  sight  could  not  have 
escaped  your  observation.  What  appeared 
to  us  at  a  distance  to  be  a  wood,  was  only 
a  group  of  about  fourteen  of  them,  the  trunks 


158  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

of  which  seemed  to  be  supported  in  their 
upright  position  by  arches  on  each  side,  these 
arches  being  formed  by  the  roots  of  the  tree. 
"Jack  climbed  with  considerable  trouble 
upon  one  of  these  arch-formed  roots,  and 
with  a  packthread  in  his  hand  measured  the 
actual  circumference  of  the  tree  itself.  He 
found  that  it  measured  more  than  fifteen 
braches  (the  brache  is  equal  to  twenty-two 
inches  and  a  half).  I  made  thirty-two  steps 
in  going  round  one  of  those  giant  productions 
at  the  roots ;  and  its  height  from  the  ground 
to  the  place  where  the  branches  begin  to 
shoot,  may  be  about  thirty-six  braches.  The 
twigs  of  the  tree  are  strong  and  thick;  its 
leaves  moderately  large  in  size,  and  bearing 
some  resemblance  to  the  hazel  tree  of  Europe ; 
but  I  was  unable  to  discover  that  it  bore  any 
fruit.  The  soil  immediately  round  and  under 
its  branches  produced  in  great  abundance  a 
short  thick  kind  of  plant,  unmixed  with  any 
of  the  thistle  kind,  and  of  a  perfectly  smooth 
surface.  The  large  breadth  of  shade  which 
presented  itself,  seemed  to  invite  us  to  make 
this  spot  the  place  of  our  repose;  and  my 
predilection  for  it  grew  so  strong,  that  I  re- 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  159 

solved  to  go  no  further,  but  to  enjoy  its  de- 
licious coolness  till  it  should  be  time  to  return. 
I  sat  down  in  this  verdant  elysium  "with  my 
three  sons  around  me.  We  took  out  our  pro- 
vision bags :  a  charming  stream  formed  to 
increase  the  coolness  and  beauty  of  the  scene, 
flowed  at  our  feet,  and  supplied  us  with  a 
fresh  and  salutary  beverage.  Our  dogs  were 
not  long  in  reaching  us ;  they  had  remain- 
ed behind,  sauntering  about  the  skirts  of 
the  wood.  To  my  great  surprise,  they  did 
not  ask  for  any  thing  to  eat,  but  lay  down 
quietly,  and  were  soon  asleep  at  our  feet. 
For  my  own  part,  I  felt  that  I  could  never 
tire  of  beholding  and  admiring  this  enchant- 
ing spot ;  it  occurred  to  me,  that  if  we  could 
but  contrive  a  kind  of  tent  that  could  be  fixed 
in  one  of  the  trees,  we  might  safely  come  and 
make  our  abode  here.  I  had  found  nothing 
in  any  other  direction  that  suited  us  so  well 
in  every  respect ;  and  I  resolved  to  look  no 
further.  When  we  had  shared  our  dinner 
among  us  and  well  rested  from  our  fatigue, 
we  set  out  on  our  return,  again  keeping  close 
to  the  river,  half  expecting  to  see  along  the 
shore  some  of  the  pieces  or  other  vestiges  of 


160  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

the  vessel,  which  the  waves  might  have  wash- 
ed there. 

"  But  before  we  left  our  enchanting  retreat, 
Jack  entreated  me  to  stay,  and  finish  sewing 
the  linen  strips  to  his  leather  belt.  The  lit- 
tle coxcomb  had  so  great  an  ambition  to  strut 
about  and  exhibit  himself  in  this  new  orna- 
ment, that  he  had  taken  the  trouble  to  carry 
the  piece  of  wood,  on  which  he  had  nailed 
his  skin  to  dry,  along  with  him  through  the 
whole  of  our  expedition.  Finding  that  the 
skin  was  really  dry,  I  granted  his  request, 
preferring,  since  work  I  must,  to  do  it  now 
when  I  had  the  advantage  of  being  in  the 
shade.  When  I  had  finished,  he  eagerly 
fastened  on  the  belt,  and  placed  his  pistols  in 
it;  he  set  himself  before  us  in  a  marching 
step,  with  the  knuckles  of  his  hand  turned 
back  upon  his  hip,  leaving  to  Ernest  the  care 
of  putting  on  the  dogs'  collars ;  which  he  in- 
sisted should  be  done,  for  it  would  give  them, 
he  said,  a  martial  air.  The  self-imagined 
hero  was  all  impatience  for  you  and  Fritz  to 
see  him  in  his  new  accoutrement ;  so  that  I 
had  enough  to  do  to  walk  quick  enough  to 
keep  sight  of  him  ;  for  in  a  country  where  no 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  161 

track  of  the  foot  of  man  is  to  be  found,  we 
might  easily  lose  each  other.  I  became 
more  tranquil  respecting  him  when  we  had 
got  once  more  together  on  the  sea  shore ; 
for,  as  I  expected,  we  found  there  pieces  of 
timber,  poles,  large  and  small  chests,  and 
other  articles  which  I  knew  had  come  from 
the  vessel.  None  of  us,  however,  were  strong 
enough  to  bring  them  away ;  we  therefore 
contented  ourselves  with  dragging  all  we 
could  reach  to  the  dry  sands,  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  waves  at  high  water.  Our  dogs, 
for  their  part,  were  fully  employed  in  catch- 
ing crabs,  which  they  drew  with  their  paws 
to  the  shore  as  the  waves  washed  them  up, 
and  on  which  they  made  an  excellent  repast. 
I  now  understood  that  it  was  this  sort  of 
prey  which  had  appeased  their  hunger  before 
they  joined  us  at  dinner.  Heaven  be  praised, 
cried  I,  that  our  animals  have  found  means 
to  procure  sustenance  at  so  cheap  a  rate !  for 
I  really  began  to  think  that,  with  their  enor- 
mous appetites,  they  might  some  day  have 
taken  it  into  their  heads  to  eat  their  masters. 
"  We  now  suddenly  cast  our  eyes  on  Flora, 
whom  we  perceived  employed  in  turning  over  a 


162  THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

round  substance  she  had  found  in  the  sands, 
some  pieces  of  which  she  swallowed  from  time 
to  time.  Ernest  also  perceived  her  motions, 
and  did  us  the  favor,  with  his  usual  compos- 
ure, to  pronounce  just  these  words  :  — '  They 
are  turtle's  eggs  ! ' 

"  'Run,  my  children,'  cried  I,  'and  get  as 
many  of  them  as  you  can ;  they  are  excel- 
lent, and  I  shall  have  the  greatest  pleasure 
in  being  able  to  regale  our  dear  travelers  on 
their  return  with  so  new  and  delicious  a  dish.' 
We  found  it  difficult  to  make  Flora  leave  the 
eggs,  to  which  she  had  taken  a  great  fancy. 
At  length,  however,  we  succeeded  in  collecting 
near  two  dozen  of  them,  which  we  secured  in 
our  provision-bags.  When  we  had  concluded 
this  affair,  we  by  accident  cast  our  eyes  upon 
the  sea,  and  to  our  astonishment  perceived  a 
sail,  which  seemed  to  be  joyfully  approaching 
towards  the  land.  I  knew  not  what  to  im- 
agine ;  but  Ernest  exclaimed  that  it  was  you 
and  Fritz ;  and  we  soon  had  the  happiness 
of  being  convinced  that  it  was  indeed  our 
well-beloved !  We  ran  eagerly  towards  the 
river,  which  Jack  and  Ernest  rec^ossed  as 
before,  by  leaping  from  one  great  stone  to 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  163 

another ;  while  I  also  resumed  my  burden  of 
little  Francis  at  my  back,  and  in  this  manner 
soon  arrived  at  the  place  of  your  landing, 
when  we  had  nothing  further  to  do  but  to 
throw  ourselves  into  your  arms  !  " 

"And  you  think  we  could  set  up  a  tent  in 
one  of  those  giant  trees  at  a  distance  of  six- 
ty-six feet  from  the  ground  !  And  by  what 
means  are  we  to  ascend  this  tree  ?  for  at 
present  I  have  no  clear  view  of  this  impor- 
tant part  of  the  subject." 

I  perceived  a  tear  stealing  into  my  wife's 
eye,  that  she  could  not  prevail  upon  me  to 
think  as  she  wished  of  her  discovery,  and  that 
I  treated  the  subject  of  her  giant  trees  with 
so  little  respect:  I  therefore  endeavored  to 
soothe  and  relieve  her  somewhat  wounded 
sensibility. 

"Do  you  recollect,"  said  she,  "the  large 
limetree  in  the  public  walk  of  the  town  we 
lived  in ;  and  the  pretty  little  room  which 
had  been  built  among  its  branches,  and  the 
flight  of  stairs  which  led  to.it  ?  What  should 
hinder  us  from  effecting  such  a  contrivance 
in  one  of  my  giant  trees,  which  afford  even 
superior  facilities  in  the  enormous  size  and 

12 


164  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

strength  of  their  branches,  and  the  peculiar 
manner  of  their  growth?  " 

"  Well,  well,  we  shall  see  about  it.  In  the 
meanwhile,  my  boys,  let  us  extract  a  little 
lesson  in  arithmetic,  from  the  subject  of  these 
marvelous  trees ;  t  for  this,  at  least,  will  be 
deriving  a  real  benefit  from  them.  Tell  me, 
learned  Mr.  Ernest,  how  many  feet  there  are 
in  thirty-six  braches  ?  for  that,  your  mother 
assures  us,  is  the  height  of  the  trees." 

Ernest.  —  To  answer  this  question,  I  must 
know  first  how  many  feet  or  inches  the  brache 
contains. 

Father.  —  The  brache,  or  half-ell,  contains 
one  foot  ten  inches,  or  twenty-two  inches. 
Now  then  make  your  calculation. 

Ernest.  —  I  do  not  find  it  so  easy  as  I 
thought.  You  must  help  me,  Fritz :  you  are 
older  than  I  am. 

Fritz.  —  With  all  my  heart.  First  we 
take  thirty-six  braches ;  then  multiply  36  by 
22,  the  number  of  inches  each  brache  con- 
tains, and  you  have  792 ;  divide  this  by  12, 
the  number  of  inches  in  a  foot,  and  it  will 
give  us  66  for  the  number  of  feet.  Is  that 
right,  father? 


THE  'SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  165 

Father.  —  Yes,  quite  right.  So,  my  clear 
wife,  you  will  have  every  evening  to  climb 
sixty-six  feet  to  get  to  bed,  which,  as  we  have 
no  ladder,  is  not  the  easiest  thing  imaginable. 
Now  then  let  us  see  how  many  feet  the  tree 
is  in  circumference,  taking  it  round  the  roots. 
Your  mother  found  that  she  walked  round  it 
in  thirty-two  steps.  Tell  us  then,  Ernest, 
how  many  feet  do  you  think  these  thirty-two 
steps  would  make  ? 

Ernest.  —  You  always  ask  me  the  things 
that  I  know  nothing  at  all  about :  you  should 
tell  me,  at  least,  how  many  feet  there  are  in 
a  step. 

Father.  —  Well,  say  two.  feet  and  a  half  to 
each  step. 

Ernest.  —  Twice  32  makes  64  ;  the  half 
of  32  is  16 ;  which  added  to  64  makes  80 
feet. 

Father.  —  Very  well.  Tell  me  now,  if 
you  recollect  the  proper  term  in  geometry  for 
the  circumference  of  a  circle,  or  say  of  a  tree, 
since  we  are  talking  of  trees. 

Ernest.  —  Oh,  you  may  be  sure  that  I 
could  not  forget  that  it  is  called  the  periphery. 

Father.  —  Right.     And  what  is  the  term 


166  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

for  any  line  which  may  be  drawn  from  one 
point  of  the  periphery  to  another  passing 
through  the  centre  ?  Now,  Jack,  you  may 
show  us  what  a  great  geometrician  you  intend 
to  be. 

Jack.  —  I  believe  it  is  called  the  diameter. 

Father.  —  So  far  right.  Next,  can  you 
tell  me  what  is  the  diameter  of  a  periphery 
of  eighty  feet,  and  what  distance  there  is  be- 
tween the  extremities  of  the  roots  of  the  giant 
tree  and  its  trunk  ? 

The  boys  all  began  to  reckon,  and  soon 
one  said  one  number,  one  another,  at  ran- 
dom; but  Fritz  called  out  louder  than  the 
rest,  that  the  distance  was  twenty-six  feet. 

Father.  —  You  are  pretty  near.  Tell  me, 
did  you  make  a  calculation,  or  was  it  a  mere 
guess  ? 

Fritz. — No,  Father,  not  a  guess;  but  I 
will  tell  you :  in  the  town  in  which  we  lived,  I 
have  often  taken  notice  that  the  hatter,  when 
he  was  about  to  bind  the  edge  of  a  hat,  al- 
ways measured  three  times  the  length  of  the^ 
diameter,  and  a  trifle  over,  for  the  quantity 
of  ribbon  he  should  use. 

Father.  —  So ;  height  from  the  ground  to 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  167 

the  branches,  sixty-six  feet ;  thickness,  eight 
feet  in  diameter,  and  twenty-eight  feet  dis- 
tance from  the  extremities  of  the  roots  to 
the  trunk ;  they  really,  with  propriety,  may 
be  called  giant  trees. 

We  now  performed  our  devotions,  and  re- 
tired to  rest,  grateful  to  find  ourselves  once 
more  together,  and  in  health.  We  soon 
closed  our  eyes,  and  enjoyed  tranquil  slum- 
bers tin  break  of  clay. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Construction  of  a  Bridge. 

When  my  wife  and  I  awoke  the  next  morn- 
ing, we  resumed  the  question  of  our  change 
of  abode.  I  observed  to  her,  that  it  was  a 
matter  of  difficulty,  and  that  we  might  have 
reason  to  repent  such  a  step.  "  My  own 
opinion  is,"  said  I,  "that  we  had  better  re- 
main here,  where  Providence  seems  to  have 
conducted  us ;  the  place  is  favorable  to  our 
personal  safety,  and  is  near  the  vessel,  from 


168  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

which  we  may  continue  to  enrich  ourselves ; 
we  are  on  all  sides  protected  by  the  rocks ; 
it  is  an  asylum  inaccessible  but  by  sea,  or  by 
the  passage  of  the  liver,  which  is  not  easily 
accomplished.  Let  us  then  have  patience 
yet  a  little  longer  at  least,  till  we  have  got 
all  that  can  be  removed,  or  that  would  be 
useful  to  us,  from  the  ship." 

My  wife  replied,  that  the  intense  heat  of 
the  sands  was  insupportable ;  that  by  re- 
maining, we  lost  all  hope  of  procuring  fruits 
of  any  kind,  and  must  live  on  oysters,  or  on 
such  wild' birds  as  that  we  found  so  unpalata- 
ble. "  As  for  the  safety  you  boast  of,"  pur- 
sued she,  "the  rock3  did  not  prevent  our 
receiving  a  visit  from  the  jackalls;  nor  is  it 
improbable  that  tigers  or  other  animals  might 
follow  their  example.  Lastly,  as  to  the 
treasures  we  might  continue  to  draw  from 
the  vessel,  I  renounce  them  with  all  my 
heart.  We  are  already  in  possession  of  pro- 
visions and  other  useful  things ;  and,  to  say 
the  truth,  my  heart  is  always  filled  with  dis- 
tressing apprehensions,  when  you  and  Fritz 
are  exposed  to  the  danger  of  that  perfidious 
element  the  sea." 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  169 

"We  will  then  think  seriously  of  the  mat- 
ter ;  but  let  us  have  a  well-digested  scheme 
of  operation  before  we  leave  this  spot  for 
your  favorite  wood.  First,  we  must  contrive 
a  store-house  among  the  rocks  for  our  provis- 
ions and  other  things,  and  to  which,  in  case 
of  invasion  in  the  wood,  we  can  retreat  and 
defend  ourselves.  This  agreed,  the  next 
thing  is  to  throw  a  bridge  across  the  river, 
if  we  are  to  pass  it  with  all  our  family  and 
baggage." 

"  A  bridge  !  "  exclaimed  my  wife  :  "  can 
you  possibly  think  of  such  a  thing  ?  If  we 
stay  while  you  build  a  bridge,  we  may  con- 
sider ourselves  as  fixed  for  life.  Why  should 
we  not  cross  the  river  as  we  did  before? 
The  ass  and  the  cow  will  carry  all  we  pos- 
sess upon  their  backs." 

"But  do  you  recollect,  that  to  keep  what 
they  carry  dry,  they  must  not  perform  their 
journey  as  they  did  from  the  vessel?  For 
this  reason,  then,  if  for  no  other,  we  must 
contrive  a  bridge.  We  shall  want  also  some 
sacks  and  baskets  to  contain  our  different 
matters ;  you  may  therefore  set  about  mak- 
ing these,  and  I  will  undertake  the  bridge, 


170  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

•which,  the  more  I  consider,  the  more  I  find 
to  be  of  indispensable  necessity;  for  the 
stream  will,  no  doubt,  at  times  increase,  and 
the  passage  become  impracticable  in  any 
other  way.  At  this  moment  it  would  be 
found  so  for  our  shortest  legged  animals,  and 
I  am  sure  you  would  not  wish  to  see  them 
drowned." 

"  Well,  then,  a  bridge  let  there  be,  said  my 
wife,  and  you  will  leave  our  stock  of  gunpow- 
der here,  I  hope ;  for  I  am  never  easy  with 
it  so  near  us :  a  thunder-storm,  or  some 
thoughtless  action  of  one  of  the  boys,  might 
expose  us  to  serious  dangers." 

"  You  are  right,  my  love ;  and  I  will  care- 
fully attend  to  your  suggestion.  We  will 
keep  on  hand  only  a  sufficient  quantity  for 
daily  use ;  I  will  contrive  a  place  in  the  rock 
for  the  rest,  where  it  will  be  safe  from  the 
chance  of  fire  or  dampness.  It  is  an  article 
which,  according  to  the  use  which  is  made  of 
it,  may  become,  on  the  one  hand,  a  most  dan- 
gerous enemy,  and,  on  the  other,  a  most  use- 
ful friend." 

Thus,  then,  we  decided  the  important  ques- 
tion of  removing  to  a  new  abode  :  after  which 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  171 

we  fixed  upon  a  plan  of  labor  for  the  day, 
and  then  awaked  the  boys.  Their  delight  on 
hearing  of  our  project  may  easily  be  con- 
ceived, but  they  expressed  their  fear  that  it 
would  be  a  Ions;  while  before  a  bridge  could 
be  built ;  a  single  hour  appearing  an  age  to 
them,  with  such  a  novelty  in  view  as  the 
prospect  of  removing  to  the  wood,  to  live 
under  the  giant  trees.  They,  in  the  fulness 
of  their  joy,  entreated  that  the  place  might 
be  called  The  promised  Land. 

We  now  began  to  look  about  for  breakfast; 
Fritz  taking  care  not  to  neglect  his  monkey, 
who  sucked  one  of  the  goats  as  contentedly 
as  if  she  had  been  its  mother.  My  wife  un- 
dertook to  milk  another,  and  then  the  cow, 
and  afterwards  gave  some  of  the  milk  to  each 
of  the  children ;  with  a  part  of  what  re- 
mained she  made  a  sort  of  soup  with  biscuits, 
and  the  rest  she  put  into  one  of  the  flasks,  to 
accompany  us  in  our  expedition.  During 
this  time,  I  was  preparing  the  boat  for  an- 
other journey  to  the  vessel,  to  bring  away  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  planks  and  timbers  for 
the  bridge.  After  breakfast  we  set  out; 
and  now  I  took  with  me  Ernest  as  well  as 


172  THE  SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

Fritz,  that  we  might  accomplish  our  object 
in  a  shorter  time. 

We  rowed  stoutly  till  we  reached  the  cur- 
rent, which  soon  drew  us  on  beyond  the  bay ; 
but  scarcely  had  we  passed  a  little  islet,  lying 
t'o  one  side  of  us,  than  we  perceived  a  prodi- 
gious quantity  of  seagulls  and  other  birds. 
I  had  a  curiosity  to  discover  what  could  be 
the  reason  of  such  an  assemblage  of  these 
creatures.  I  steered  for  the  spot ;  but,  find- 
ing that  the  boat  made  but  little  way,  I 
hoisted  my  sail. 

To  Ernest  our  expedition  afforded  the  high- 
est delight.  He  was  in  ecstacies  at  seeing 
the  sail  begin  to  swell,  and  the  motion  of  the 
streamer  in  the  air.  Fritz,  on  his  part,  did 
not  for  a  moment  take  his  eyes  from  the  islet 
where  the  birds  were.  Presently  he  suddenly 
exclaimed,  I  see  what  it  is ;  the  birds  are  all 
pecking,  tooth  and  beak,  at  a  monstrous  fish, 
which  lies  dead  upon  the  soil." 

I  approached  near  enough  to  step  upon 
the  land,  and  after  bringing  the  boat  to  an 
anchor  with  a  heavy  stone,  we  stole  softly  up 
to  the  birds.  We  soon  perceived  that  the 
object  which  attracted  them  was  in  reality  an 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  173 

enormous  fish,  which  had  been  thrown  there 
by  the  sea.  So  eagerly  were  they  occupied 
with  the  feast,  that  not  one  of  them  attempted 
to  fly  off.  We  observed  with  astonishment 
the  extreme  voracity  of  this  plumed  group ; 
each  bird  was  so  intent  upon  its  prey,  that 
we  might  have  killed  great  numbers  of  them 
with  our  sticks  alone.  Fritz  did  not  cease  to 
'express  his  wonder  at  the  monstrous  size  of 
the  animal,  and  asked  me  by  what  means  he 
could  have  got  there  ? 

"I  believe,"  answered  I,  "you  were  your- 
self the  means :  there  is  every  appearance 
that  it  is  the  very  shark  you  wounded  yester- 
day. See,  here  are  the  two  balls  which  you 
discharged  at  its  head." 

"  Yes,  yes,  it  is  the  very  same,"  said  my 
young  hero,  skipping  about  for  joy  :  I  well 
remember  I  had  two  balls  in  my  gun,  and 
here  they  are,  lodged  in  his  hideous  head." 

"1  grant  it  is  hideous  enough,"  continued 
I;  "its  aspect  even  when  dead  makes  one 
shudder,  particularly  when  I  recollect  how 
easy  it  would  have  been  for  him  to  have  de- 
voured us.  See  what  a  huge  mouth  he  has, 
and  what  a  rough   and  prickly  skin !    one 


174  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  KOBINSON. 

might  almost  use  it  for  a  file ;  and  his  length 
must  be  above  twenty  feet.  We  ought  to  be 
thankful  to  Providence,  and  a  little  to  our 
Fritz  also,  for  having  delivered  us  from  such 
a  monster !  But  let  us  take  away  with  us 
some  pieces  of  his  skin,  for  I  have  an  idea 
that  it  may  in  some  way  or  other  be  useful 
to  us.  But  how  to  get  at  him  is  the  diffi- 
culty." 

Ernest  drew  out  the  iron  ramrod  from  his 
gun,  and  by  striking  with  it  to  right  and  left 
among  the  birds,  soon  dispersed  them.  Fritz 
and  I  then  advanced  and  cut  several  long 
strips  of  the  skin  from  the  head  of  the  shark, 
with  which  we  were  proceeding  to  our  boat, 
when  I  observed,  lying  on  the  ground,  some 
planks  and  timbers  which  had  recently  been 
cast  by  the  sea  on  this  little  island.  On 
measuring  the  longest,  we  perceived  they 
would  answer  our  purpose ;  and,  wTith  the  as- 
sistance of  the  crow  and  a  lever  which  wTe  had 
brought  wTith  us,  found  means  to  get  them 
into  the  boat,  and  thus  spare  ourselves  the 
trouble  of  proceeding  to  the  vessel.  With 
great  exertion  of  our  strength,  we  contrived 
to  bind  the  timbers  together,  with  the  planks 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  175 

upon  them,  in  the  manner  of  a  raft,  and  tied 
them  to  the  end  of  the  boat ;  so  that,  through 
this  adventure,  we  were  ready  to  return  in 
four  hours  from  the  time  of  departure,  and 
might  boast  of  having  done  a  good  day's 
work.  I  accordingly  pushed  again  for  the 
•current,  which  soon  drove  us  out  to  sea ;  then 
I  tacked  about,  and  resumed  the  direct  rout 
for  the  bay.  All  this  succeeded  to  my  ut- 
most wishes ;  I  unfurled  my  sail,  and  a  brisk 
wind  soon  conveyed  us  to  our  landing-place. 

While  we  were  sailing,  Fritz,  at  my  re- 
quest, had  nailed  the  strips  of  skin  we  cut 
from  the  shark  to  the  mast  to  dry ;  and  he 
now  observed  to  me  that  this  was  wrong,  as 
they  had  taken  its  round  shape  in  drying, 
and  could  not  be  made  flat  again. 

"  That  was  precisely  my  intention,"  re- 
plied I ;  "  they  will  be  more  useful  to  us 
round  than  flat ;  besides,  you  have  still  some 
left,  which  you  may  dry  flat ;  and  then  we 
shall  have  a  fine  provision  of  shagreen,  if  we 
can  find  a  good  method  to  rub  off  the  sharp 
points,  and  afterwards  to  polish  it." 

"I  thought,"  said  Ernest,  "that  shagreen 
was  made  of  ass's  skin."     "And  you  were 


176  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

not  mistaken,"  rejoined  I;  "  the  best  sha- 
green is  made  in  Turkey,  Persia,  and  Tar- 
tary,  from  skin  taken  from  the  back  of  the 
ass  and  the  horse.  While  the  skin  is  yet 
moist,  it  is  stretched  upon  a  kind  of  hard  fat ; 
they  then  beat  the  skin,  by  which  means  the 
fat  is  incorporated,  and  gives  the  surface  the 
appearance  of  a  kind  of  file :  but  very  good 
shagreen  is  also  made  from  the  skin  of  sea- 
fish,  particularly  in  France." 

Ernest  asked  his  brother  if  he  knew  why 
the  mouth  of  the  shark  is  not,  as  in  other  an- 
imals, placed  in  the  middle  of  the  snout,  but 
directly  under.  Fritz  confessed  his  inability 
to  answer  this  question. 

" I  suppose,"  rejoined  Ernest,  "that  the 
mouth  of  the  shark  is  thus  placed,  with  the 
intention  of  preventing  him  from  depopulat- 
ing the  sea  and  the  land.  With  so  excessive 
a  voraciousness  of  appetite  as  he  possesses, 
nothing  would  escape  him  if  he  had  the  power 
to  seize  his  prey  without  turning  his  body ; 
but  as  it  is,  there  is  time  enough  for  a  smaller 
animal  to  make  his  escape." 

"  Well  reasoned,  my  young  philosopher," 
cried  I ;  "  and  though  we  should  not  always 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  177 

be  able  to  comprehend  the  intention  of  the 
Creator  in  the  objects  which  surround  us,  at 
least  the  conjectures  we  are  induced  to  form 
respecting  them  cannot  fail  of  being  a  useful 
exercise  to  the  mind." 

We  were  once  more  landed  safely  on  our 
shore,  but  no  one^  of  our  family  appeared. 
We  called  to  them  as  loud  as  we  could,  which 
was  answered  by  the  same  sounds  in  return, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  my  wife  appeared  be- 
tween her  two  little  boys  returning  from  the 
river,  a  rising  piece  of  ground  having  con- 
cealed her  from  our  sight :  each  carried  a 
handkerchief  in  hand,  which  appeared  filled 
with  some  new  prize ;  and  little  Francis  had 
a  small  fishing-net  formed  like  a  bag  and, 
strung  upon  a  stick,  which  he  carried  on  his 
shoulder.  No  sooner  did  they  hear  our  voices, 
than  they  flew  to  meet  us,  surprised  at  our 
quick  return.  Jack  reached  us  before  the 
rest ;  and  his  first  act  was  to  open  the  hand- 
kerchief he  held,  and  pour  out  a  large  number 
of  lobsters  at  our  feet :  their  mother  and  little 
Francis  produced  each  as  many  more,  form- 
ing all  together  a  prodigious  heap,  and  all 
alive  ;  so  that  we  were  sure  of  excellent  din- 


1/0  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

ners  for  some  clays  at  least.  Some  of  the  an- 
imals tried  to  escape  in  different  directions ; 
and  the  boys,  in  following  them,  were  kept 
in  full  chase,  sometimes  pleased  and  some- 
times angry ;  sometimes  laughing,  sometimes 
scolding  at  the  bootless  trouble  they  were  en- 
gaged in ;  for  no  sooner  had  they  seized  on 
the  deserter,  than  ten  more  had  followed  his 
example. 

"  Now,  have  I  not  been  very  lucky,  papa  ?  " 
said  little  Francis ;  "  for  you  must  know  it 
was  I  who  found  them  out.  Look,  there  are 
more  than  two  hundred  of  them,  and  see  how 
large  they  are,  and  what  fine  claws  they 
have !  I  am  sure  they  will  be  quite  deli- 
cious ! " 

Father. — "Excellent  indeed,  my  little  fel- 
low, and  particularly  if  it  was  your  industry 
that  first  discovered  them. 

Jack.  —  Yes,  father,  it  was  Francis  who 
saw  them  first ;  but  it  was  I  who  ran  to  tell 
mamma,  and  it  was  I  who  fetched  the  net  and 
put  it  to  rights,  and  it  was  I  who  went  up  to 
my  knees  in  water  to  catch  them. 

Father. — You  make  a  charming  story  of 
it  together,  my  boys ;   but  as  it  is  an  inter- 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  179 

esting  subject,  you  may  tell  me  as  many  par- 
ticulars as  you  please ;  it  is  indeed  an  event 
of  some  importance  for  our  kitchen,  and  I 
have  great  pleasure  in  looking  forward  to 
partaking  of  a  dish  of  your  providing. 

Jack.  —  Well  then,  papa,  as  soon  as  you 
were  gone,  mamma  sat  down  outside  the  tent 
and  began  to  work,  while  Francis  and  I  took 
a  little  walk  towards  the  river,  to  find  out  a 
proper  place  for  you  to  begin  the  bridge. 

Father.  — Bravo,  Mr.  Architect :  but  jok- 
ing apart,  I  am  much  gratified  to  find  that 
careless  head  of  yours  for  once  employed 
upon  a  useful  subject.  Did  you  find  a  proper 
place  for  me  to  begin  the  bridge  ? 

Jack.  —  Yes,  father,  yes.  But  listen,  and 
you  will  know  all.  When  we  reached  the 
river  we  saw  a  large  stone  just  at  the  edge, 
and  little  Francis  kneeling  down,  and  touch- 
ing it,  suddenly  cried  out,  "Jack,  Jack, 
Fritz's  jackall  is  covered  all  over  with  lob- 
sters !  Bun  as  fast  as  you  can."  I  sprang 
to  him  in  an  instant,  and  saw  not  only  the 
jackall  covered  with  them,  but  legions  more 
coming  in  with  the  stream.  I  ran  to  tell 
mamma,  who  quickly  got  the  net  you  brought 

13 


180  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

from  the  vessel.  Partly  with  this  net,  and 
partly  with  our  hands,  we  caught  those  you 
see  in  a  very  few  minutes ;  and  we  should 
have  caught  a  much  larger  number  if  we  had 
not  heard  you  call,  for  the  river  is  quite  full 
of  them.  —  "  You  took  quite  enough  for  once, 
my  boy,"  said  I:  "  A  little  at  a  time  is  the 
maxim  that  suits  us  best,  and  I  should  even 
advise  your  taking  the  smallest  of  them  back 
to  the  river,  where  they  will  grow  larger ;  we 
shall  still  have  sufficient  for  several  magnifi- 
cent repasts."  —  This  then,  said  I  to  myself, 
is  a  new  source  for  our  support :  even  here, 
in  these  arid  regions,  we  find  means  to  pro- 
cure not  only  the  necessaries  of  life,  but  even 
luxuries.  May  we  never  cease  to  evince  our 
gratitude  to  Providence,  by  the  exercise  of  a 
more  than  ordinary  care  and  industry ! 

After  giving  in  our  turn  an  account  of  our 
voyage,  my  wife  set  about  dressing  some  of 
the  lobsters,  and  in  the  meantime  Fritz  and 
I  employed  ourselves  in  untying  the  raft  of 
timbers  and  planks,  and  in  moving  them  from 
the  boat.  I  then  imitated  the  example  of  the 
Laplanders,  in  harnessing  their  rein-deer  for 
drawing  their  sledges.      Instead  of  traces, 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  181 

halters,  &c.  I  put  a  piece  of  rope,  with  a 
running  knot  at  the  end,  round  the  neck  of 
the  ass,  and  passed  the  other  end  between  its 
legs,  to  which  I  tied  the  piece  of  wood  which 
I  wished  to  be  removed.  The  cow  was  har- 
nessed in  the  same  manner,  and  we  were  thus 
enabled  to  carry  our  materials,  piece  by 
piece,  to  the  spot  which  architect  Jack  had 
chosen  at  the  river,  as  the  most  eligible  for 
our  bridge :  to  say  the  truth,  I  thought  his 
judgment  excellent ;  it  was  a  place  where 
the  shore  on  each  side  was  steep,  and  of  equal 
height ;  there  was  even  on  our  side  an  old 
trunk  of  a  tree  lying  on  the  ground,  which  I 
foresaw  would  have  its  use. 

"Now  then,  boys,"  said  I,  "the  first  thing 
is  to  see  if  our  timbers  are  long  enough  to 
reach  to  the  other  side  :  by  my  eye,  I  should 
think  they  are ;  but  if  I  had  a  surveyor's 
plane,  we  might  be  quite  sure,  instead  of 
working  at  a  venture. 

"  But  my  mother  has  some  balls  of  pack- 
thread, with  which  she  measured  the  height 
of  the  giant  tree,"  interrupted  Ernest,  "  and 
nothing  would  be  more  easy  than  to  tie  a 
stone  to  the  end  of  one  of  them,  and  throw 


182  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

it  to  the  other  side  of  the  river;  then  we 
could  draw  it  to  the  very  brink,  and  thus  ob- 
tain the  exact  length  that  would  be  required 
for  our  timbers." 

"  Your  idea  is  excellent,"  cried  I;  "noth- 
ing gives  me  more  pleasure  than  to  see  you 
exercise  your  invention:  run  quickly  and 
fetch  the  packthread."  He  returned  without 
loss  of  time ;  the  stone  was  tied  to  its  end, 
and  thrown  across  as  we  had  planned ;  we 
drew  it  gently  back  to  the  river  edge,  mark- 
ing the  place  where  the  bridge  was  to  rest : 
we  next  measured  the  string,  and  found  that 
the  distance  from  one  side  to  the  other  was 
eighteen  feet.  It  appeared  to  me,  that  to 
give  a  sufficient  solidity  to  the  timbers,  I 
must  allow  three  feet  at  each  end  of  extra 
length  for  fixing  them,  making  therefore  in 
all  twenty-four ;  and  I  was  fortunate  enough 
to  find  that  many  of  those  we  had  brought 
did  not  fall  short  of  this  length.  There  now 
remained  the  difficulty  of  carrying  oner  end 
across  the  stream ;  but  we  determined  to  dis- 
cuss this  part  of  the  subject  while  we  ate  our 
dinner,  which  had  been  waiting  for  us  more 
than  an  hour. 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  183 

We  all  now  proceeded  homewards,  and  en- 
tering the  kitchen,  we  found  our  good  stew- 
ard had  prepared  for  us  a  large  dish  of  lob- 
sters ;  but  before  tasting  them,  she  insisted 
we  should  look  at  something  she  had  been 
employed  about :  she  produced  two  sacks  in- 
tended for  the  ass,  which  she  had  seamed 
with  packthread ;  the  work,  she  assured  us, 
had  with  difficulty  been  accomplished,  since, 
fdr  want  of  a  needle  large  enough  to  carry 
packthread,  she  had  been  obliged  to  make  a 
hole  with  a  nail  for  every  stitch;  we  might 
therefore  judge  by  her  perseverance  in  such 
"a  task,  of  the  ardor  with  which  she  longed  to 
see  her  plan  of  a  removal  executed.  She  re- 
ceived on  this  occasion,  as  was  well  her  due, 
abundance  of  compliments  and  thanks  from 
her  companions,  and  also  a  little  good-hu- 
mored raillery.  For  this  time  we  hurried 
through  our  meal,  each  being  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  work  we  were  about  to  under- 
take, and  thinking  only  of  the  part  which 
might  be  assigned  him  towards  the  execution 
of  the  Nonsuch  ;  for  this,  for  mutual  encour- 
agement, was  the  name  we  gave  our  bridge, 
even  before  it  was  in  existence. 


184  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

Having  consulted  as  to  the  means  of  lay- 
ing our  timbers  across  the  river,  the  first 
thing  I  did  was  to  attach  one  of  them  to  the 
trunk  of  the  tree,  of  which  I  have  already 
spoken,  by  a  strong  cord,  long  enough  to  turn 
freely  round  the  trunk ;  I  then  fastened  a 
second  cord  to  the  other  end  of  the  timber, 
and  tying  a  stone  to  its  extremity  flung  it  to 
the  opposite  bank.  I  next  passed  the  river 
as  I  had  clone  before,  furnished  with  a  pullapr, 
which  I  secured  to  a  tree ;  I  passed  my  sec- 
ond cord  through  the  pulley,  and  recrossing 
the  river  with  this  cord  in  my  hand,  I  con- 
trived to  harness  the  ass  and  cow  to  the  end 
of  the  cord.  I  next  drove  the  animals  from 
the  bank  of  the  river  ;  they  resisted  at  first, 
but  I  made  them  go  by  force  of  drawing.  I 
first  fixed  one  end  of  the  beam  firm  to  the 
trunk  of  the  tree,  and  then  they  drew  along 
the  other  end,  so  as  gradually  to  advance 
over  the  river :  presently,  to  my  great  joy,  I 
saw  it  touch  the  other  side,  and  at  length  be- 
come fixed  and  firm  by  its  own  weight.  In 
a  moment  Fritz  and  Jack  leaped  upon  the 
timber,  and,  in  spite  of  my  paternal  fears, 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  185 

crossed  the  stream  with  a  joyful  step  upon 
this  narrow  but  effective  bridge. 

The  first  timber  being  thus  laid,  the  diffi- 
culty was  considerably  diminished ;  a  second 
and  a  third  were  fixed  in  succession,  and  with 
the  greatest  ease.  Fritz  and  I,  standing  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  river,  placed  them  at 
such  distances  from  each  other  as  was  neces- 
sary to  form  a  broad  and  handsome  bridge : 
what  now  remained  to  be  done  was  to  lay 
some  short  planks  across  them  quite  close  to 
each  other,  which  we  executed  so  expedi- 
tiously, that  our  construction  was  completed 
in  a  much  shorter  time  than  I  should  have 
imagined  possible.  The  reader  should  have 
seen  our  young  workmen,  to  form  the  least 
conception  of  the  delight  they  felt;  they 
jumped,  danced,  played  a  thousand  antics, 
and  uttered  a  thousand  joyful  sounds  upon 
their  bridge.  For  my  own  part,  I  could 
hardly  restrain  myself  from  joining  in  these 
demonstrations  of  their  perfect  happiness ; 
and  my  wife,  who  had  been  the  mover  of  all 
our  operations,  was  as  little  disposed  to  a  si- 
lent calm  enjoyment  of  our  success  as  any  of 


186  THE  SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

the  rest :  she  ran  to  one,  and  then  to  an- 
other, embracing  each  in  turn,  and  was  never 
tired  of  passing  and  repassing  on  our  piece 
of  workmanship,  which  was  every  where  safe 
and  even,  and  at  least  ten  feet  in  breadth. 
I  had  not  fastened  the  cross  planks  to  each 
other,  for  they  appeared  to  be  close  and  firm 
without  it ;  and  besides,  I  recollected  that  in 
case  of  danger  from  any  kind  of  invasion,  we 
could  with  the  greater  ease  remove  them, 
and  thus  render  the  passage  of  the  river  more 
difficult.  Our  labor  however  had  occasioned 
us  so  much  fatigue,  that  we  found  ourselves 
unable  for  that  day  to  enter  upon  new  exer- 
tions ;  and  the  evening  beginning  to  set  in, 
we  returned  to  our  home,  where  we  partook 
heartily  of  an  excellent  supper,  and  went  to 
bed. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Change  of  Abode. 

As  soon  as  we  were  up  and  had  break- 
fasted, the  next  morning,  I  assembled  all  the 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  187 

members  of  my  family  together,  to  take  with 
them  a  solemn  farewell  of  this  our  first  place 
of  reception  from  the  awful  disaster  of  the 
shipwreck.  I  confess  that  for  my  own  part 
I  could  not  leave  it  without  regret ;  it  was  a 
place  of  greater  safety  than  we  were  likely 
again  to  meet  with;  it  was  also  nearer  to 
the  vessel.  I  thought  it  right  to  represent 
strongly  to  my  sons  the  danger  of  exposing 
themselves,  as  they  had  done  the  evening  be- 
fore, along  the  river.  —  "  We  aitenow  going," 
continued  I,  "to  inhabit  an  unknown  spot, 
which  is  not  so  well  protected  by  nature  as  that 
we  are  leaving :  wto  are  unacquainted  both 
with  the  soil  and  its  inhabitants,  whether  hu- 
man , creatures  or  beasts;  much  caution  is 
therefore  necessary,  and  take  care  not  to  re- 
main separate  from  each  other."  Having 
unburdened  my  mind  of  this  necessary  charge, 
we  prepared  for  sitting  out.  I  directed  my 
sons  to  assemble  our  whole  flock  of  animals, 
and  to  leave  the  ass  and  the  cow  to  me,  that 
I  might  load  them  with  the  sacks  as  before 
concerted ;  I  had  filled  these,  and  made  a  slit 
longways  in  the  middle  of  each,  and  to  each 
side  of  the  slits  I  tied  several  long  pieces  of 


188  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

cord,  which  crossing  each  other,  and  being 
again  brought  round  and  fastened,  served  to 
hold  the  sacks  firmly  on  the  back  of  the  an- 
imal. We  next  began  to  put  together  all  the 
things  we  should  stand  most  in  need  of  for 
the  two  or  three  first  days  in  our  new  abode : 
working  implements,  kitchen  utensils,  the 
captain's  service  of  plate,  and  a  small  provis- 
ion of  butter,  &c,  &c.  I  put  these  articles 
into  the  two  ends  of  each  sack,  taking  care 
that  the  sideir  should  be  equally  heavy,  and 
then  fastened  them  on.  I  afterwards  added 
our  hammocks  to  complete  the  load,  and  we 
were  about  to  begin  to  march,  when  my  wife 
stopped  me.  —  "We  must  not,"  said  she, 
"  leave  our  fowls  behind,  for  fear  they  should 
become  the  prey  of  the  jackalls.  We  must 
contrive  a  place  for  them  among  the  luggage, 
and  also  one  for  our  little  Francis,  wrho. can- 
not walk  so  far,  and  would  interrupt  our 
speed.  There  is  also  my  enchanted  bag, 
which  I  recommend  to  your  particular  care," 
said  she,  smiling,  "  for  who  can  tell  what  may 
yet  pop  out  of  it  for  your  good  pleasure." 

I  now  placed  the  children  on  the  ass's  back, 
fixing  the  enchanted  bag  in  such  a  way  as  to 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  18** 

support  him,  and  I  tied  them  together  with 
so  many  cords,  that  the  animal  might  even 
have  galloped  without  danger  of  his  falling 
off. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  other  boys  had  been 
running  after  the  cocks  and  hens,  and  the 
pigeons,  but  had  not  succeeded  in  catching 
one  of  them  ;  so  they  returned  empty-handed 
and  in  ill  humor.  —  "Little  blockheads!" 
said  their  mother,  "  see  how  you  have  heated 
yourselves  in  running  after  these  untractable 
creatures  !  I  could  have  put  you  in  a  way  to 
catch  them  in  a  moment ;  come  with  me  and 
see."  —  She  now  stepped  into  the  tent,  and 
brought  out  two  handfuls  of  peas  and  oats, 
and  by  pronouncing  a  few  words  of  invitation 
in  the  accustomed  tone,  the  birds  flocked 
round  her.  She  then  walked  slowly  before 
them,  dropping  the  grain  all  the  way,  till 
they  had  followed  her  into  the  tent.  When 
she  saw  them  all  inside,  and  busily  employed 
in  picking  up  the  grain,  she  shut  the  en- 
trance, and  caught  one  after  the  other  with- 
out difficulty.  The  boys  looked  at  each  other 
half  ashamed,  though  much  amused  with  the 
adventure.     The  fowls  were  then  tied  by  the 


190  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

feet  and  wings,  put  into  a  basket  covered  with 
a  net,  and  placed  in  triumph  on  the  top  of 
our  luggage. 

We  packed  and  placed  in  the  tent  every 
thing  we  were  to  leave,  and,  for  greater  se- 
curity, fastened  down  the  ends  of  the  sail- 
cloth at  the  entrance,  by  driving  stakes 
through  them  into  the  ground.  We  ranged 
a  number  of  vessels,  both  full  and  empty, 
round  the  tent,  to  serve  as  a  rampart,  and 
thus  we  confided  to  the  protection  of  heaven 
our  remaining  treasures.  At  length,  we  set 
ourselves  in  motion :  each  of  us,  great  and 
small,  carried  a  gun  upon  his  shoulder,  and  a 
game  bag  at  his  back.  My  wife  led  the  way 
with. her  eldest  son,  the  cow  and  the  ass  im- 
mediately behind  them  ;  the  goat  conducted 
by  Jack  came  next;  the  little  monkey  was 
seated  on  the  back  of  his  nurse,  and  made  a 
thousand  grimaces.  After  the  goats,  came 
Ernest,  conducting  the  sheep,  while  I,  in  my 
capacity  of  general  superintendent,  followed 
behind  and  brought  up  the  rear ;  the  dogs 
for  the  most  part  pranced  backwards  and  for- 
wards, like  adjutants  to  a  troop  of  soldiers. 
Our  march  was   slow,  and  there  was  some- 


>^511p|p||l^i     / 


THE  REMOVAL. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  191 

thing  solemn  and  patriarchal  in  the  spectacle 
we  exhibited;  I  fancied  we  must  resemble 
our  forefathers  journeying  in  the  deserts,  ac- 
companied by  their  families  and  their  posses- 
sions.—  "Now  then,  Fritz,"  cried  I,  "you 
have  the  specimen  you  wished  for  of  the  pa- 
triarchal mode  of  life  ;  what  do  you  think  of 
it  ?  "  —  "I  like  it  much,  father,"  replied  he  : 
"  I  never  read  the  Bible,  without  "wishing  I 
had  lived  in  those  good  times." 

"And  I  too,"  said  Ernest,  "I  am  quite 
delighted  with  it ;  I  cannot  help  fancying 
myself  not  merely  a  patriarch,  but  a  Tartar, 
or  an  Arab,  and  that  we  are  about  to  dis- 
cover I  know  not  how  many  new  and  extra- 
ordinary things.  Is  it  not  true,  father,  that 
the  Tartars  and  the  Arabs  pass  their  lives  in 
journeying  from  one  place  to  another,  and 
carrying  all  they  have  about  them?  " 

"It  is  certainly  for  the  most  part  true," 
replied  I,  "  and  they  are  denominated  wan- 
dering tribes ;  but  they  generally  perform 
their  journeys  attended  by  horses  and  cam- 
els, by  means  of  which  they  can  proceed  a 
little  faster,  than  if,  like  us,  they  had  only 
an  ass  and  a  cow.     For  my  part,  I  should 


192  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

not  be  sorry  if  I  were  quite  sure  that  the  pil- 
grimage we  are  now  making  would  be  our 
last."  —  "And  I  too  am  of  your  way  of 
thinking,"  cried  my  wife,. "and  I  hope  that 
in  our  new  abode  we  shall  be  so  well  satisfied 
with  the  shade  of  such  luxuriant  trees,  that 
we  shall  not  be  inclined  to  further  rambles." 

We  had  now  advanced  half  way  across  the 
bridge,  when  the  sow  for  the  first  time  took 
the  fancy  of  joining  us.  At  the  moment  of 
our  departure  she  had  shown  herself  so  res- 
tive and  indocile,  that  we  were  compelled  to 
leave  her  behind  us ;  but  seeing  that  we  had 
all  left  the  place,  she  had  set  out  voluntarily 
to  overtake  us ;  taking  care,  however,  to  ap- 
prize us,  by  her  continual  grunting,  that  she 
disapproved  of  our  migration. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  river  we  experi- 
enced an  inconvenience  wholly  unexpected. 
The  tempting  aspect  of  the  grass,  which  grew 
here  in  profusion,  drew  off  our  animals,  who 
strayed  from  us  to  feed  upon  it;  so  that, 
without  the  dogs,  we  should  not  have  been 
able  to  bring  them  back  to  the  line  of  our 
procession.  The  active  creatures  were  of 
great  use  to  us  on  this  occasion ;    and  when 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  193 

every  thing  was  restored  to  proper  order,  wo 
were  able  to  continue  our  journey,  For  fear, 
however,  of  a  similar  occurrence,  I  directed 
our  march  to  the  left,  along  the  sea-side, 
where  the  produce  of  the  soil  was  not  of  a 
quality  to  attract  them. 

But  scarcely  had  we  advanced  a  few  steps 
on  the  sands,  when  our  two  dogs,  which  had 
strayed  behind  among  the  grass,  set  up  a  sort 
of  howl,  as  if  engaged  in  an  encounter  with 
some  formidable  animal.  Fritz  in  an  instant 
raised  his  gun  to  his  cheek,  and  was  ready  to 
fire ;  Ernest,  always  somewhat  timid,  drew 
back  to  his  mother's  side ;  Jack  ran  bravely 
after  Fritz,  with  his  gun  upon  his  shoulder ; 
while  I,  fearing  the  dogs  might  be  attacked 
by  some  dangerous  wild  beast,  prepared  my- 
self to  advance  to  their  assistance.  But 
youth  is  always  full  of  ardor ;  and  in  spite 
of  my  exhortations  to  proceed  with  caution, 
the  boys,  eager  for  the  event,  made  but  three 
jumps  to  the  place  from  which  the  noise  pro- 
ceeded. In  an  instant  Jack  had  turned  to 
meet  me,  clapping  his  hands  and  calling  out, 
a  Come  quickly,  father,  come  quickly,  here 
is  a  monstrous  porcupine  !  " 

14 


194  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

I  soon  reached  the  spot,  and  perceived  that 
it  was  really  as  they  said,  bating  a  little  ex- 
aggeration. The  dogs  were  running  to  and 
fro  with  bloody  noses  about  the  animal ;  and 
when  they  approached  too  near  hirn,  he  made 
a  frightful  noise,  and  darted  his  quills  so  sud- 
denly at  them,  that  a  great  number  had  pene- 
trated the  skins  of  the  valiant  creatures,  and 
remained  sticking  in  them ;  and  it  w as  no 
doubt  the  pain  they  occasioned  which  made 
them  howl  so  violently. 

While  we  were  looking  on,  Jack  deter- 
mined on  an  attack,  which  succeeded  well. 
He  took  one  of  the  pistols  which  he  carried 
in  his  belt,  and  aimed  it  so  exactly  at  the 
head  of  the  porcupine,  that  he  fell  dead  the 
instant  he  fired,  and  before  we  had  a  notion 
of  what  he  was  about.  This  success  raised 
Jack  to  the  height  of  joy  and  vanity;  while 
Fritz,  on  the  other  hand,  felt  a  sensation  of 
jealousy  almost  to  shedding  tears.  —  "  Is  it 
right,  Jack,"  said  he,  "that  such  a  little  boy 
as  you  should  venture  to  fire  off  a  pistol  in 
this  manner  ?  How  easily  might  you  have 
wounded  my  father  or  me,  or  one  of  the  dogs, 
by  so  rash  an  action!"  —  "Oh  yes,  to  be 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  195 

sure,  and  what  do  yon  suppose  hindered  me 
from  seeing  that  you  were  all  behind  me  ? 
Do  you  think  I  fired  without  taking  care  of 
that  ?  Do  you  take  me  for  an  idiot  ?  The 
porcupine  could  tell  you  about  that,  brother 
Fritz,  if  he  could  speak.  My  first  fire  —  pop 
—  dead  as  a  herring !  This  is  something 
like,  brother  Fritz,  and  you  would  be  glad 
enough  to  have  had  such  a  chance  your- 
self!" 

Fritz  only  replied  by  a  motion  of  his  head. 
He  was  out  of  humor  because  his  younger 
brother  had  deprived  him  of  the  honor  of  the 
day ;  and  he  sought  a  subject  of  complaint 
against  him,  as  the  wolf  did  with  the  poor 
little  lamb.  "  Come,  come,  boys,"  said  I, 
"  let  me  hear  no  envious  speeches  and  no  re- 
proaches;  luck  for  one  to-day,  for  another 
to-morrow;  but  all  for  the  common  good. 
Jack  was,  perhaps,  a  little  imprudent,  but 
you  must  allow  that  he  showed  both  skill  and 
courage ;  let  us  not  therefore  tarnish  the 
glory  of  his  exploit."  We  now  all  got  round 
the  extraordinary  animal,  on  whom  nature 
had  bestowed  a  strong  defense,  by  arming 
his  body  all  over  with  long  spears.    The  boys 


196  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

were  at  a  loss  what  means  to  use  for  carry- 
ing away  his  carcass.  They  thought  of  drag- 
ging it  along  the  ground  ;  but  as  often  as 
they  attempted  to  take  hold,  there  was  noth- 
ing but  squalling,  and  running  to  show  the 
marks  made  by  his  quills  on  their  hands. 
"We  must  leave  him  behind,"  said  they; 
"but  it  is  a  great  pity." 

While  the  boys  were  talking,  my  wife  and 
I  had  hastened  to  relieve  the  dogs,  by  draw- 
ing out  the  quills  and  examining  their 
wounds.  Fritz  had  run  on  before  with  gun, 
hoping  he  should  meet  with  some  ani- 
mal of  prey.  What  he  most  desired  was 
to  find  one  or  two  of  those  large  bustards 
which  his  mother  had  described  to  him.  We 
followed  him  at  our  leisure,  taking  care  not 
to  expose  our  health  by  unnecessary  fatigue ; 
till  at  last,  without  further  accident  or  ad- 
venture, we  arrived  at  the  place  of  the  giant 
trees.  Such,  indeed,  we  found  them,  and  our 
astonishment  exceeded  all  description.  "  Good 
heavens  !  what  trees !  what  a  height !  what 
trunks  !  I  never  heard  of  any  so  prodigious !" 
exclaimed  one  and  all.  "  Nothing  can  be  more 
rational  than  your  admiration,"  answered  I, 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  19V 

measuring  them  with  my  eyes  as  I  spoke.  "  I 
must  confess  I  had  not  myself  formed  an 
idea  of  the  reality.  To  you  be  all  the  honor, 
my  dear  wife,  for  the  discovery  of  this  agree- 
able abode,  in  which  we  shall  enjoy  so  many 
comforts  and  advantages.  The  great  point 
we  have  to  gain,  is  the  fixing  a  tent  large 
enough  to  receive  us  all,  in  one  of  these  trees, 
by  which  means  we  shall  be  perfectly  secure 
from  the  invasion  of  wild  beasts.  I  defy 
even  one  of  the  bears,  who  are  so  famous  for 
mounting  trees,  to  climb  up  by  a  trunk  so  im- 
mense, and  so  destitute  of  branches." 

We  began  now  to  release  our  animals  from 
their  burdens,  having  first  thrown  our  own  on 
the  grass.  We  next  used  the  precaution  of 
tying  their  two  fore  legs  together  with  a  cord, 
that  they  might  not  go  far  away,  or  lose 
themselves.  We  restored  the  fowls  to  liberty ; 
and  then  seating  ourselves  upon  the  grass, 
we  held  a  family  council  on  the  subject  of 
our  future  establishment.  I  was  myself  some- 
what uneasy  on  the  question  of  our  safety 
during  the  ensuing  night ;  for  I  was  ignorant 
of  the  nature  of  the  extensive  country  I  be- 
held around  me,  and  what  chance  there  might 


198  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

be  of  our'  being  attacked  by  different  kinds 
of  wild  beasts.  I  accordingly  observed  to  my 
wife,  that  I  would  make  an  endeavor  for  us 
all  to  sleep  in  the  tree  that  very  night. 
While  I  was  deliberating  wTith  her  on  the  sub- 
ject, Fritz,  who  longed  to  take  his  revenge 
for  the  porcupine  adventure,  had  stolen  away 
to  a  short  distance,  and  we  heard  the  report 
of  a  gun.  This  would  have  alarmed  me,  if, 
at  the  same  moment,  we  had  not  recognized 
Fritz's  voice  crying  out,-" I  touched  him!  I 
touched  him  !  "  and  in  a  moment  we  saw  him 
running  towards  us,  holding  a  dead  animal  of 
uncommon  beauty  by  the  paws.  "Father, 
father,  look,  here  is  a  superb  tiger  cat,"  said 
he,  proudly  raising  it  in  the  air,  to  show  it  to 
the  best  advantage.  "  Bravo  !  bravo  !  "  cried 
I;  "bravo,  Nimrod  the  undaunted!  Your 
exploit  will  call  forth  the  gratitude  of  our 
cocks,  hens,  and  pigeons,  for  you  have  ren- 
dered them  what  they  cannot  fail  to  think  an 
important  service.  If  you  had  not  killed  this 
animal  he  would,  no  doubt  have  demolished 
in  one  night  our  whole  stock  of  poultry.  I 
charge  you  look  about  in  every  direction, 
and  try  to  destroy  as  many  of  the  species  as 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  199 

fall  in  your  way,  for  we  cannot  have  more 
dangerous  intruders." 

Ernest.  —  I  wish  father  you  would  be  so 
good  as  to  tell  me  why  God  created  wild 
beasts,  since  man  seems  to  be  appointed  to 
destroy  them. 

Father.  —  This  indeed  is  a  question  I  can- 
not answer,  and  we  must  be  contented  with 
taking  care  to  arjn  ourselves  against  them : 
neither  can  I  explain  to  you  why  many  other 
things,  which  to  us  appear  to  have  only  inju- 
rious qualities,  have  been  created.  With  re- 
spect to  beasts  of  prey,  I  am  inclined  to  be- 
lieve, that  one  of  the  ends  of  Providence,  in 
giving  them  existence,  is  their  embellishing 
and  varying  the  works  of  the  creation;  of 
maintaining  a  necessary  equilibrium  among 
creatures  endowed  with  life;  and  lastly,  to 
furnish  man,  who  comes  naked  into  the 
world,  with  materials  for  protecting  himself 
from  the  cold,  by  the  use  of  their  skins, 
which  become  the  means  of  exchange  and 
commerce  between  different  nations.  We 
may  also  add,  that  the  care,  of  protecting 
himself  from  the  attacks  of  ferocious  ani- 
mals   invigorates    the    physical    and  moral 


200  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

powers  of  man,  supports  his  activity,  and 
renders  him  inventive  and  courageous.  The 
ancient  Germans,  for  example,  were  ren- 
dered robust  and  valiant  warriors,  through 
their  habitual  exercises  in  the  field,  which 
enabled  them  at  a  time  of  need,  to  defend 
their  country  and  their  liberty  with  as  little 
difficulty  as  they  would  have  experienced  in 
killing  a  wolf  or  a  bear.  — J$ut  let  us  return 
to  the  animal  Fritz  has  killed.  Tell  me  all 
the  particulars  of  your  adventure.  How  did 
you  kill  him  ? 

Fritz.  —  With  my  pistol,  father,  as  Jack 
killed  the  porcupine. 

Father.  —  Was  he  on  this  tree  just  by  us  ? 

Fritz.  —  Yes,  father,  I  had  been  observing 
that  something  moved  among  the  branches. 
I  went  softly  as  near  as  I  could ;  and  on  see- 
ing him  I  knew  him  for  a  tiger  cat.  I  fired, 
when  he  fell  at  my  feet,  wounded  and  furi- 
ous ;  and  then  I  fired  a  second  time  and  killed 
him. 

Father.  —  You  were  very  fortunate,  for  he 
might  easily  have  devoured  you.  You  should 
always  take  care,  in  aiming  at  animals  of  this 
kind,  to  be  at  a  greater  distance. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  201 

Fritz. — Why  so,  father?  I  might  have 
missed  him  if  I  had  been  further  off.  I,  on 
the  contrary,  tried  to  be  as  near  him  as  pos- 
sible, and  fired  close  to  his  ears. 

Father.  —  This  was  acting  in  the  same 
way  as  your  brother  Jack,  whom  you  so 
much  derided  for  his  want  of  care,  and  may 
serve  you  .as  a  lesson  not  to  blame  in  your 
brothers,  what  you  would  yourself  be  perhaps 
obliged  to  do  in  the  same  situation :  also  not 
to  interrupt  their  joy  with  unkind  reflections, 
but  rather  to  partake  with  them  the  pleasure 
of  their  success. 

Fritz. — Well,  father;  all  I  now  ask  of 
Jack  is,  that  he  will  be  so  good  as  not  to 
spoil  the  beautiful  skin  of  this  animal  as  he 
did  that  of  the  jackall.  Only  observe  what 
beautiful  figures  it  is  marked  with,  and  the 
fine  effect  of  the  black  and  yellow  spots ;  the 
most  richly  manufactured  stuff  could  not  ex- 
ceed it  in  magnificence.  What  is  the  exact 
name  of  the  animal  ? 

Father.  — You  may  for  the  present  give  it 
the  name  of  the  tiger  cat.  I  do  not,  how- 
ever, think  that  it  is  the  animal  which  is  so 
denominated  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope ;  I 


202  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

rather  think  it  is  the  margay,  a  native  of 
America,  an  animal  of  extremely  vicious  dis- 
positions and  singular  voraciousness  ;  he  at- 
tacks all  the  birds  of  the  forest,  and  nei- 
ther a  man,  a  sheep,  or  goat,  that  should  fall 
in  his  way,  could  escape  his  rapacity.  In 
the  name  of  humanity,  therefore,  we  ought 
to  be  thankful  to  you  for  having  destroyed 
him. 

Fritz.  —  All  the  recompense  I  ask,  father, 
is,  that  you  will  let  me  keep  the  skin ;  and  I 
wish  you  would  tell  me  what  use  I  can  make 
of  it. 

Father.  —  One  idea  occurs  to  me ;  skin 
the  animal,  carefully,  so  as  not  to  injure  it, 
particularly  the  parts  which  cover  the  fore 
legs  and  the  tail.  You  may  then  make  your- 
self a  belt  with  it,  like  your  brother  Jack's. 
The  odd  pieces  will  serve  to  make  some  cases 
to  contain  our  utensils  for  the  table,  such  as 
knives,  forks,  spoons.  Go  then,  boy,  and  put 
away  its  bloody  head,  and  we  will  see  how  to 
set  about  preparing  the  skin. 

The  boys  left  me  no  moment  of  repose  till 
I  had  shown  them  how  to  take  off  the  skins 
of  the  animals  without  tearing  them.     In  the 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  203 

meanwhile  Ernest  looked  about  for  a  flat 
stone  as  a  sort  of  foundation  for  a  fire-place, 
and  little  Francis  collected  some  pieces  of 
dry  wood  for  his  mother  to  light  a  fire.  Er- 
nest was  not  long  in  finding  what  he  wanted, 
and  then  he  ran  to  join  us  and  give  us  his 
assistance,  or  rather  to  reason,  right  or  wrong, 
on  the  subject  of  skinning  animals  ;  and  then 
on  that  of  trees,  making  various  comments 
and  inquiries  respecting  the  real  name  of 
those  we  intended  to  inhabit.  —  "  It  is  my 
opinion,"  said  he,  "that  they  are,  really  and 
simply,  enormously  large  hazel  trees;  see  if 
the  leaf  is  not  of  exactly  the  same  form."  — 
"But  that  is  no  proof,"  interrupted  I:  "for 
many  trees  bear  leaves  of  the  same  shape, 
but  nevertheless  are  of  different  kinds." 

Ernest.  —  I  thought,  father,  that  the 
mango  tree  only  grew  on  the  seashore,  and 
in  marshy  soils  ? 

Father.  —  You  were  not  mistaken :  it  is 
the  black  mango  tree  which  loves  the  water. 
But  there  is,  besides,  the  red  mango,  which 
bears  its  fruit  in  bunches,  something  like  our 
currant  bushes.  This  kind  of  the  mango 
tree  is  found  at  a  considerable  distance  from 


204  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

the  sea,  and  its  wood  is  used  for  dyeing  red. 
There  is  a  third  sort,  which  is  called  the 
mountain  mango,  or  yellow  wood,  and  this  is 
the  kind  whose  roots  produce  the  beautiful 
arches  you  now  see  around  us. 

Presently  little  Francis  came  running,  with 
his  mouth  crammed  full  of  something,  and 
calling  out,  "Mamma,  mamma,  I  have  found 
a  nice  fruit  to  eat,  and  I  have  brought  you 
home  some  of  it !  " 

"  Little  glutton !  "  replied  his  mother,  quite 
alarmed,  "  what  have  you  got  there  ?  For 
heaven's  sake,  do  not  swallow,  in  this  impru- 
dent manner,  the  first  thing  that  falls  in  your 
way ;  for  by  this  means  you  may  be  poisoned, 
and  then  you  would  die."  She  made  him 
open  his  mouth,  and  took  out  with  her  finger 
what  he  was  eating  with  so  keen  a  relish. 
With  some  difficulty  she  drew  out  the  remains 
of  a  fig.  —  "  A  fig  !  "  exclaimed  I :  "  where 
did  you  get  this  fig  ?  " 

Francis.  —  I  got  it  among  the  grass,  papa ; 
and  there  are  a  great  many  more.  I  thought 
it  must  be  good  to  eat,  for  the  fowls  and  the 
pigeons,  and  even  the  pig,  came  to  the  place 
and  ate  them  in  large  quantities. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  205 

Father.  —  You  see  then,  my  dear,  said  I 
to  my  wife,  that  our  beautiful  trees  are  fig- 
trees,  at  least  the  kind  which  are  thus  named 
at  the  Antilles.  I  took  this  occasion  to  give 
the  boys  another  lesson  on  the  necessity  of 
being  cautious,  and  never  to  venture  on  tast- 
ing anything  they  met  with,  till  they  had 
seen  it  eaten  by  birds  and  monkeys.  At  the 
word  monkeys,  they  all  ran  to  visit  the  little 
orphan,  whom  they  found  seated  on  the  root 
of  a  tree,  and  examining  with  the  oddest 
grimaces  the  half-skinned  tiger  cat,  which 
lay  near  him.  Francis  offered  him  a  fig, 
which  he  first  turned  round  and  round,  then 
smelled  at  it,  and  concluded  by  eating  it  vo- 
raciously.—  "Bravo,  bravo!  Mr.  Monkey," 
exclaimed  the  boys,  clapping  their  hands ; 
so  then  these  figs  are  a;ood  to  eat !  Thank 
you,  Mr.  Monkey,  for  after  your  wise  decis- 
ion, we  shall  make  a  charming  feast  on 
them." 

In  the  meanwhile  my  wife  had  been  busy 
in  making  a  fire,  putting  on  the  pot,  and  pre- 
paring for  our  dinner.  The  tiger  cat  was 
bestowed  upon  the  dogs,  who  waited  impa- 
tiently to  receive  it.     While  our  dinner  was 


206  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

dressing,  I  employed  my  time  in  making  some 
packing-needles  with  some  of  the  quills  of  the 
porcupine,  which  the  boys  had  contrived  to 
draw  from  his  skin,  and  bring  home.  I  put 
the  point  of  a  large  nail  into  the  fire  until  it 
was  red-hot ;  then  taking  hold  of  it  with 
some  wet  linen  in  my  hand,  by  way  of  guard, 
I  with  great  ease  perforated  the  thick  end  of 
the  quills  with  it.  I  had  soon  the  pleasure 
of  presenting  my  wife  with  a  large  packet  of 
long,  stout  needles,  which  were  the  more  val- 
uable in  her  estimation,  as  she  had  formed 
the  intention  of  contriving  some  better  har- 
ness for  our  animals,  and  had  been  perplexed 
how  to  set  about  them  without  some  larger 
needles.  I,  however,  recommended  to  her  to 
be  frugal  in  the  use  of  her  packthread,  for 
which  I  should  soon  have  so  urgent  a  need, 
in  constructing  a  ladder  for  ascending  the 
tree  we  intended  to  inhabit. 

I  had  singled  out  the  highest  fig-tree ;  and 
while  we  were  waiting  for  dinner,  I  made  the 
boys  try  how  high  they  could  throw  a  stick 
or  stone  into  it.  I  also  tried  myself;  but  the 
lowest  branches  were  so  far  from  the  ground, 
that  none  of  us  could  touch  them.     I  per- 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  207 

ceived,  therefore,  that  we  should  want  some 
new  inventions  for  fastening  the  ends  of  my 
ladder  to  them.  I  allowed  a  short  pause  to 
my  imagination,  during  which  I  assisted  Jack 
and  Fritz  in  carrying  the  skin  of  the  tiger 
cat  to  a  near  rivulet,  where  we  confined  it 
under  water  with  some  large  stones.  After 
this  we  returned  and  dined  heartily  on  some 
slices  of  ham  and  bread  and  cheese,  under 
the  shade  of  our  favorite  trees. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Construction  of_a  Ladder. 

Our  repast  ended,  I  observed  to  my  wife, 
that  we  should  be  obliged  to  pass  the  night 
on  the  ground.  I  desired  her  to  begin  pre- 
paring the  harness  for  the' animals,  that  they 
might  go  to  the  seashore,  and  fetch  pieces  of 
wood,  or  other  articles^  which  might  be  useful 
to  us.  1^,-^^^t^^m'eantimei  set  about  sus- 
pending our  "hammocks  to  some  of  the  arched 
roots  of  the  trees.  I  next  spread  a  piece  of 
sail-cloth  large  enough  to  cover  them,  to  pre- 


208  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

serve  us  from  the  clew  and  from  the  insects. 
I  then  hastened  with  the  two  eldest  boys  to 
the  seashore,  to  choose  out  such  pieces  of 
wood  as  were  most  proper  for  the  steps  of  my 
ladder.  Ernest  was  so  lucky  as  to  discover 
some  bamboo  canes  in  a  sort  of  bog.  I  took 
them  out,  and,  with  his  assistance,  completely 
cleared  them  from  the  dirt;  and  stripping 
off  their  leaves,  I  found  to  my  great  joy,  that 
they  were  precisely  what  I  wanted.  I  then 
instantly  began  to  cut  them  with  my  hatchet, 
in  pieces  of  four  or  five  feet  long ;  the  boys 
bound  them  together  in  fagots,  and  we  pre- 
pared to  return  with,  them  to  our  place  of 
abode.  I  next  secured  some  of  the  straight 
and  most  slender  of  the  stalks,  to  make  some 
arrows  with,  of  which  I  knew  I  should  stand 
in  need.  At  some  distance  from  the  place 
where  we  stood,  I  perceived  a  sort  of  thicket, 
in  which  I  hoped  to  find  some  young  pliant 
twigs,  which  I  thought  might  also  be  useful 
to  me ;  we  proceeded  to  the  spot ;  but  appre- 
hending it  might  be  the  retreat  of  some  dan- 
gerous reptile,  or  animal,  we  held  our  guns 
in  readiness.  Flora,  who  had  accompanied 
us,  went  before.     We  had  hardly  reached  the 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  209 

thicket  before  she  made  several  jumps,  and 
threw  herself  furiously  into  the  middle  of  the 
bushes ;  when  a  troop  of  large-sized  flamin- 
goes sprang  out,  and  with  a  loud  rustling 
noise  mounted  into  the  air.  Fritz  fired,  when 
two  of  the  birds  fell  among  the  bushes :  one 
of  them  was  quite  dead ;  the  other  was  only 
slightly  wounded  in  the  wing,  and  finding 
that  he  could  not  fly,  he  ran  so  fast  towards 
the  water,  that  we  were  afraid  he  would  es- 
cape us.  Fritz,  in  the  joy  of  his  heart, 
plunged  up  to  his  knees  in  the  water,  to  pick 
up  the  flamingo  he  had  killed,  and  with  great 
difficulty  was  able  to  get  out  again ;  while  I, 
warned  by  his  example,  proceeded  more  cau- 
tiously in  my  pursuit  of  the  wounded  bird. 
Flora  came  to  my  assistance,  and  running  on 
before,  caught  hold  of  the  flamingo,  and  held 
him  fast  till  I  reached  the  spot  and  took  him 
into  my  protection.  All  this  was  effected 
with  considerable  trouble :  for  the  bird  made 
a  stout  resistance,  flapping  its  wings  with  vi- 
olence for  some  time.  But  at  last  I  suc- 
ceeded in  securing  him. 

Fritz  was  not  long  in  extricating  himself 
from  the  swamp ;  he  now  appeared  holding 

15 


210  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

the  dead  flamingo  by  the  feet:-  but  I  had 
more  trouble  in  the  care  of  mine,  as  I  had  a 
great  desire  to  preserve  him  alive.  I  had 
tied  his  feet  and  his  wings  with  my  handker- 
chief; notwithstanding  which,  he  still  con- 
tinued to  flutter  about  to  a  distressing  degree, 
and  tried  to"  make  his  escape.  I  held  the 
flamingo  under  my  left  arm,  and  my  gun  in 
my  right  hand.  I  made  the  best  jumps  I 
was  able  to  get  to  the  boys,  but  at  the  risk 
of  sinking  every  moment  in  the  mud,  which 
was  extremely  deep,  and  from  which  it  would 
have  been  difficult  to  release  me. 

The  joy  of  the  boys  was  excessive,  when 
they  saw  that  my  flamingo  was  alive.  —  "If 
we  can  but  cure  his  wound  and  contrive  to 
feed  him,  what  a  happiness  it  will  be  ! "  said 
they.  "Do  you  think  he  will  like  to  be  with 
the  other  fowls?"  "I  know,"  answered  I, 
"  that  he  is  a  bird  that  may  be  easily  tamed ; 
but  we  will  not  thank  you  for  such  food  as 
we  give  our  fowls ;  he  will  make  his  humble 
petition  to  you  for  some  small  fish,  a  few 
worms,  or  insects." 

Ernest.  —  Our  river  will  furnish  him  with 
all  these:    Jack  and  Francis  can  catch  as 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  211 

many  as  he  will  want;  and  very  soon,  with 
such  long  legs  as  he  has,  he  may  learn  the 
way  to  the  river  and  find  them  for  himself. 
But,  father,  are  all  flamingoes  like  this,  of 
such  a  beautiful  red  co^or,  and  the  wings  so 
exquisitely  tinted  with  purple  ?  I  think  I 
have  seen  the  flamingo  in  my  Natural  His- 
tory, and  the  colors  were  not  like  these ;  so 
perhaps  this  is  not  a  flamingo  at  last. 

Father.  —  I  believe  it  is  a  flamingo,  Er- 
nest, and  that  this  difference  in  the  plumage 
denotes  the  age  of  the  bird  :  when  very  young 
they  are  gray :  at  a  more  advanced  age  they 
are  white ;  and  it  is  only  when  they  are  full 
grown,  that  they  are  adorned  with  this  beau- 
tiful tinted  plumage.  But  one  of  you  must 
hold  our  live  flamingo,  while  I  repeat  my 
visit  to  the  canes,  for  I  have  not  done  with 
them  yet.  I  accordingly  selected  some  of  the 
oldest  of  the  stalks,  and  cut  from  them  their 
hard  pointed  ends,  to  serve  for  the  tips  of  my 
arrows,  for  which  they  are  also  used  by  the 
savages  of  the  Antilles.  Lastly,  I  looked  for 
two  of  the  longest  canes,  which  I  cut,  for  the 
purpose  of  measuring  the  height  of  our  giant 
tree,  about  which  I  felt  so  deep  an  interest. 


212  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

When  I  told  my  sons  the  use  I  intended  to 
make  of  the  two  longest  canes,  they  indulged 
themselves  in  a  hearty  laugh  at  me,  and 
maintained,  that  though  I  should  lay  ten  such 
canes  up  the  trunk  of  the  tree,  the  last  would 
not  reach  even  the  lowest  branch.  I  re- 
quested they  would  oblige  me  by  having  a 
little  patience ;  and  I  reminded  them,  that  it 
was  not  long  ago  that  they  defied  their  mo- 
ther to  catch  the  fowls,  because  they  them- 
selves had  not  known  how  to  set  about  it. 
We  now  thought  of  returning.  Ernest  took 
the  charge  of  the  canes ;  Fritz  carried  the 
dead  flamingo,  and  I  resumed  the  care  of  the 
living  one. 

We  had  now  reached  the  spot  where  we 
had  left  the  three  bundles  of  bamboo-canes ; 
and  as  my  sons  were  sufficiently  loaded,  I 
took  charge  of  them  myself. 

We  at  length  arrived  once  more  at  our 
giant  trees,  and  were  received  with  a  thou- 
sand expressions  of  interest  and  kindness. 
All  were  delighted  at  the  sight  of  our  new 
captures.  My  wife,  with  her  usual  anxiety 
about  the  means  for  subsisting,  asked  where 
we  should  get  food  enough  for  all  the  animals 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROEINSON.  213 

we  brought  home  ? —  "  You  should  consider," 
said  I,  "  that  some  of  them  feed  us,  instead 
of  being  fed ;  and  the  one  we  have  now 
brought  you  need  not  give  much  uneasiness, 
if,  as  I  hope,  he  proves  able  to  find  food  for 
himself."  I  now  began  to  examine  his  wound, 
and  found  that  only  one  wing  was  injured  by 
the  ball,  but  that  the  other  had  also  been 
slightly  wounded  by  the  dog  laying  hold  of 
him.  I  applied  some  ointment  to  both,  which 
seemed  immediately  to  ease  the  pain.  I  next 
tied  him  by  one  of  his  legs,  with  a  long  string, 
to  a  stake  I  had  driven  into  the  ground,  quite 
near  to  the  river,  that  he  might  go  in  and 
wash  himself  when  he  pleased. 

In  the  meantime,  my  little  railers  had  tied 
the  two  longest  canes  together,  and  were  en- 
deavoring to  measure  the  tree  with  them ; 
but  when  they  found  that  they  reached  no 
further  than  the  top  of  the  arch  formed  by 
the  roots,  they  all  burst  into  immoderate  fits 
of  laughter,  assuring  me,  that  if  I  wished  to 
measure  the  tree,  I  must  think  of  some  other 
means.  I  however  sobered  them  a  little,  by 
recalling  to  Fritz's  memory  some  lessons  in 
land-surveying  he  had  received  in  Europe, 


214  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

and  that  the  measure  of  the  highest  moun- 
tains, and  their  distance  from  each  other, 
may  be  ascertained  by  the  application  of  tri- 
angles and  supposed  lines.  I  instantly  pro- 
ceeded to  this  kind  of  operation,  fixing  my 
canes  in  the  ground,  and  making  use  of  some 
string,  which  Fritz  guided  according  to  my 
directions.  I  found  that  the  height  of  the 
lower  branches  of  our  tree  was  forty  feet ;  a 
particular  I  was  obliged  scrupulously  to  as- 
certain, before  I  could  determine  the  length 
of  my  ladder.  I  now  set  Fritz  and  Ernest 
to  work,  to  measure  our  stock  of  thick  ropes, 
of  which  I  wanted  no  less  than  eighty  feet 
for  the  two  sides  of  the  ladder:  the  two 
youngest  I  employed  in  collecting  all  the 
small  string  we  had  used  for  measuring,  and 
carrying  it  to  their  mother.  For  my  own 
part  I  sat  down  on  the  grass,  and  began  to 
make  some  arrows  with  a  piece  of  the  bam- 
boo, and  the  short  sharp  points  of  the  canes 
I  had  taken  such  pains  to  secure.  As  the 
arrows  were  hollow,  I  filled  them  with  the 
moist  sand,  to  give  them  a  little  weight ;  and 
lastly,  I  tipped  them  with  a  bit  of  feather 
from  the  flamingo,  to  make  them  fly  straight. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  215 

Scarcely  had  I  finished  my  work,  than  the 
boys  came  jumping  round  me,  uttering  a 
thousand  demonstrations  of  joy  :  —  "A  bow, 
a  bow,  and  some  real  arrows!"  cried  they, 
addressing  each  other,  and  then  running  to 
me.  —  "Tell  us  father,"  continued  they, 
"what  you  are  going  to  do  with  them;  do 
let  me  shoot  one ;  —  and  me;  and  me  too," 
cried  one  and  all  as  fast  as  they  could  speak. 

Father.  —  "  Have  patience,  boys ;  I  say, 
have  patience.  Have  you,  my  clear,  any 
strong  thread ?  "  said  I  to  my  wife ;  "I  want 
some  immediately."  —  "We  shall  see,"  said 
she,  "what  my  enchanted  bag,  which  has 
never  yet  refused  its  aid,  can  do  for  you." 
She  then  threw  open  its  mouth.  —  "  Come," 
said,  she,  "pretty  bag,  give  me  what  I  ask 
for ;  my  husband  wants  some  thread,  and  it 

must  be  very  strong See  now,  did  I  not 

promise  you  should  have  your  wish  ?  —  here 
is  a  large  ball  of  the  very  thread  you  want." 

Ernest.  —  But  I  do  not  see  much  magic, 
however,  mother,  in  taking  out  of  a  bag  ex- 
actly what  we  had  before  put  into  it. 

Father.  —  If  we  are  to  discuss  the  matter 
seriously,  Ernest,  I  cannot  but  allow  that 


216  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

your  observation  is  a  just  one ;  but  in  a  mo- 
ment of  dreadful  apprehension,  such  as  we 
experienced  on  leaving  the  vessel,  to  think 
of  a  variety  of  little  things  that  might  be  use- 
ful to  one  or  all  of  us,  was  an  act  that  we 
may  truly  call  magical ;  only  from  the  best 
of  wives  and  mothers,  could  it  have  pro- 
ceeded :  it  is,  then,  something  like  a  truth, 
that  your  mother  is  a  good  fairy,  who  con- 
stantly provides  for  all  our  wants :  but  you 
young  giddy  things  think  little  of  the  benefit 
you  thus  enjoy. 

Just  at  this  moment  Fritz  joined  us,  hav- 
ing finished  measuring  the  string :  he  brought 
me  the  welcome  tidings  that  our  stock,  in  all, 
was  about  five  hundred  fathoms,  which  I  knew 
to  be  more  than  sufficient  for  my  ladder.  I 
now  tied  the  end  of  the  ball  of  strong  thread 
to  an  arrow,  and  fixing  it  to  the  bow,  I  shot 
it  off  in  such  a  direction,  as  to  make  the  ar- 
row pass  over  one  of  the  largest  branches  of 
the  tree,  and  fall  again  to  the  ground.  By 
this  method  I  lodged  my  thread  securely, 
while  I  had  the  command  of  the  end  and  the 
ball  below.  It  was  now  easy  to  tie  a  piece 
of  rope  to  the  end  of  the  thread,  and  draw  it 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  217 

upwards,  till  the  knot  should  reach  the  same 
branch..  Having  thus  made  quite  sure  of 
being  able  to  raise  my  ladder,  we  all  set  to 
work  with  increased  zeal  and  confidence. 
The  first  thing  I  did  was  to  cat  a  length  of 
about  one  hundred  feet  from  my  parcel  of 
ropes,  an  inch  thick ;  this  I  divided  into  two 
equal  parts,  which  I  stretched  along  on  the 
ground  in  two  parallel  lines,  at  the  distance 
of  a  foot  from  each  other.  I  then  directed 
Fritz  to  cut  portions  of  sugar-cane,  each  two 
feet  in  length.  Ernest  handed  them  to  me, 
one  after  another ;  and  as  I  received  them,  I 
inserted  them  into  my  cords  at  the  distance 
of  twelve  inches  respectively ;  fixing  them 
with  knots  in  the  cord,  while  Jack,  by  my 
order,  drove  into  each  a  long  nail  at  the  two 
extremities,  to  hinder  them  from  slipping  out 
again.  Thus,  in  a  very  short  time,  I  had 
formed  a  ladder  of  forty  rounds,  in  length, 
and,  in  point  of  execution,  firm  and  compact, 
and  which  we  all  beheld  with  a  sort  of  joyful 
astonishment.  I  now  tied  it  with  strong 
knots  to  the  end  of  the  rope  which  hung  from 
the  tree,  and  pulled  it  by  the  other,  till  our 
ladder  reached  the  branch,  and  seemed  to 


218  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

rest  so  well  upon  it,  that  the  joyous  exclama- 
tions of  the  boys  and  my  wife  resounded  from 
all  sides.  All  the  boys  wished  to  be  the  first 
to  ascend  upon  it;  but  I  decided  that  it 
should  be  Jack,  he  being  the  nimblest  and  of 
the  lightest  figure  among  them.  Accord- 
ingly, I  and  his  brothers  held  the  ends  of  the 
rope  and  of  the  ladder  with  all  our  strength, 
while  our  young  adventurer  tripped  up  the 
rounds  with  perfect  ease,  and  presently  took 
his  post  upon  the  branch ;  but  I  observed 
that  he  had  not  strength  enough  to  tie  the 
rope  firmly  to  the  tree.  Fritz  now  inter- 
fered, assuring  me  that  he  could  ascend  as 
safely  as  his  brother ;  but  as  he  was  much 
heavier,  I  was  not  altogether  without  appre- 
hension. I  fastened  the  end  of  the  ladder 
with  forked  stakes  to  the  ground,  and  then 
gave  him  instructions,  how  to  step  in  such  a 
way  as  to  .divide  his  weight,  by  occupying 
four  rounds  of  the  ladder  at  the  same  time, 
with  his  feet  and  hands.  It  was  not  long  be- 
fore we  saw  him  side  by  side  with  Jack,  forty 
feet  above  our  heads,  and  both  saluting  us 
with  cries  of  exultation.  Fritz  set  to  work 
to  fasten  the  ladder,  by  passing  the  rope 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  219 

round  and  round  the  branch ;  and  this  he 
performed  with  so  much  skill  and  intelli- 
gence, that  I  felt  sufficient  reliance  to  deter- 
mine me  to  ascend  myself,  and  well  conclude 
the  business  he  had  begun.  But  first  I  tied 
a  large  pulley  to  the  end  of  the  rope,  and 
carried  it  with  me.  When  I  was  at  the  top, 
I  fastened  the  pulley  to  a  branch  which  was 
within  my  reach,  that  by  this  means  I  might 
be  able  the  next  day  to  draw  up  the  planks 
and  timbers  I  might  want  for  building  my 
aerial  castle.  I  executed  all  this  by  the  light 
of  the  moon,  and  felt  the  satisfaction  of  hav- 
ing done  a  good  day's  work.  I  now  gently 
descended  my  rope  ladder,  and  joined  my 
wife  and  children. 

Finding  an  inconvenience  in  being  three 
together  on  the  branch,  I  had  directed  the 
boys  to  descend  first.  My  astonishment, 
therefore,  on  reaching  the  ground,  where 
neither  Fritz  nor  Jack  had  made  their  ap- 
pearance, it  is  easier  to  conceive  than  to  de- 
scribe. While  I  was  endeavoring  to  conjec- 
ture where  they  could  be,  we  suddenly  heard 
the  sound  of  voices  which  seemed  to  come 
from  the  clouds,  and  which  chanted  an  even- 


220  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

ing  hymn.  I  soon  perceived  the  trick  our 
young  rogues  had  played,  who,  seeing  me 
busily  employed  in  the  tree,  instead  of  de- 
scending as  I  had  desired,  had  climbed  up- 
wards from  branch  to  branch,  till  they  had 
reached  the  very  top.  My  heart  was  now 
lightened  of  my  apprehensions  for  their 
safety.  I  called  out  to  them  as  loudly  as  I 
could  to  take  great  care  in  coming  down.  It 
was  almost  night,  and  the  light  of  the  moon 
scarcely  penetrated  the  extreme  thickness  of 
the  foliage.  They  presently  descended  with- 
out any  accident,  when  they  told  us  that 
scarcely  had  my  voice  reached  to  the  great 
height  at  which  they  were.  I  now  directed 
them  to  assemble  all  our  animals,  and  to  get 
what  dry  wood  we  should  want  for  making 
fires,  which  I  looked  to  as  our  defense  against 
the  attacks  of  wild  beasts.  I  explained  to 
them  my  reasons  for  this ;  informing  them 
that  in  Africa,  a  country  remarkable  for  its. 
prodigious  numbers  of  ferocious  animals,  the 
natives  secure  themselves  from  their  noctur- 
nal visits  by  lighting  large  fires,  which  all 
these  creatures  are  known  to  dread  and 
avoid. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROEIXSOX.  221 

My  wife  now  presented  me  with  the  day's 
work  she  had  performed  ;  it  was  some  traces, 
and  a  breast-leather  each  for  the  cow  and  the 
ass.  I  promised  her,  as  a  reward  for  her 
zeal  and  exertion,  that  we  should  all  be  com- 
pletely settled  in  the  tree  the  following  day, 
and  we  then  assembled  to  supper. 

All  our  animals  came  round  us,  one  after 
the  other.  My  wife  threw  some  grain  to  the 
fowls,  to  accustom  them  to  draw  together  in 
a  particular  spot;  and  when  they  had  eaten 
it,  we  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  our  pigeons 
take  their  flight  to  the  top  of  the  giant  tree, 
and' the  cocks  and  hens  perching  and  settling 
themselves,  and  cackling  all  the  time  upon 
the  rounds  of  the  ladder.  The  quadrupeds 
we  tied  to  the  arched  roots  of  the  tree,  quite 
near  to  our  hammocks,  where  they  quietly 
lay  on  the  grass  to  ruminate  in  tranquility. 
Our  beautiful  flamingo  was  not  forgotten, 
Fritz  having  fed  him  with  some  crumbs  of 
biscuit  soaked  in,  milk,  which  he  ate  very 
heartily ;  and  afterwards  putting  his  head 
under  his  right  wing,  and  raising  his  left  foot, 
he  abandoned  himself  with  confidence  to  sleep. 

And  now  the  gaping  of  one,  and  the  out- 


222  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

stretched  arms  of  another,  gave  us  notice  that 
it  was  time  for  our  young  laborers  to  retire 
to  rest.  "We  performed  our  evening  devo- 
tions. I  set  fire  to  several  of  the  heaps,  and 
then  threw  myself  contentedly  upon  my  ham- 
mock. My  young  ones  were  already  cased 
in  theirs,  and  we  were  soon  greeted  with  their 
murmurs  at  being  obliged  to  lie  so  close  to 
each  other  that  they  could  not  move  their 
limbs. -=-"  Ah,  gentlemen,"  cried  I,  "you 
must  try  to  be  contented-  No  sailor  is  ever 
better  accommodated  than  you  are  now,  and 
you  must  not  expect  beds  to  drop  from  the 
clouds  on  your  behalf !  "  I  directed  them  "how 
to  put  themselves  in  a  more  convenient  pos- 
ture, and  to  swing  their  hammock  gently  to 
and  fro.  "And  see,"  added  I,  "if  sleep  will 
not  visit  you  as  soon  in  a  hammock  as  on  a 
bed  of  down."  They  profited  by  my  advice, 
and  all,  except  myself,  were  soon  asleep. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  223 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  settling  in  the  Giant  Tree. 

I  had  thought  it  necessary  to  keep  watch 
during  this  first  night.  Every  leaf  that  stirred 
gave  me  the  apprehension  that  it  was  the  ap- 
proach of  a  jackall  or  a  tiger,  who  might  at- 
tack us.  As  soon  as  one  of  the  heaps  was 
consumed,  I  lighted  another ;  and  at  length, 
finding  that  no  animal  appeared,  I  by  degrees 
became  assured,  and  fell  into  a  sound  sleep. 
The  next  morning  we  took  our  breakfast,  and 
fell  to  work.  My  wife,  having  finished  her 
daily  occupation  of  milking  the  cow  and  pre- 
paring the  breakfast,  set  off  with  Ernest, 
Jack,  and  Francis,  attended  by  the  ass,  to 
the  sea-shore;  they  had  no  doubt  of  finding 
some  more  pieces  of  wood,  and  they  thought 
it  would  be  prudent  to  replenish  our  exhausted 
store.  In  her  absence,  I  ascended  the  tree 
with  Fritz,  and  made  the  necessary  prepara- 


224  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

tions  for  my  undertaking,  for  which  I  found 
it  in  every  respect  convenient;  for  the 
branches  grew  close  to  each  other,  and  in  an 
exactly  horizontal  direction.  Such  as  grew 
in  a  manner  to  obstruct  my  design,  I  cut  oil 
either  with  the  saw  or  hatchet,  leaving  none 
but  what  presented  me  with  a  sort  of  founda- 
tion for  my  work.  I  left  those  which  spread 
themselves  evenly  upon  the  trunk,  and  had 
the  largest  circuit,  as  a  support  for  my  floor. 
Above  these,  at  the  height  of  forty-six  feet,  I 
found  others  upon  which  to  suspend  our  ham- 
mocks ;  and  higher  still,  there  was  a  further 
series  of  branches,  destined  to  receive  the 
roof  of  my  tent,  which  for  the  present  was  to 
be  formed  of  nothing  more  than  a  large  sur- 
face of  sail-cloth. 

The  progress  of  these  preparations  was 
considerably  slow.  It  was  necessary  to  raise 
certain  beams  to  this  height  of  forty  feet, 
that  were  too  heavy  for  my  wife  and  her  lit- 
tle assistants  to  lift  from  the  ground.  I  had, 
however,  the  resource  of  my  pulley,  which 
served  to  excellent  purpose,  and  Fritz  and  I 
contrived  to  draw  them  up  to  the  elevation 
of  the  tent,  one  by  one.     "When  I  had  al- 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  225 

ready  placed  two  beams  upon  the  branches,  I 
hastened  to  fix  my  planks  upon  them ;  and  I 
made  my  floor  double,  that  it  might  have  suf- 
ficient solidity  if  the  beams  should  be  warped 
from  their  places.  I  then  formed  a  wall  of 
staves  of  wood  like  a  park-paling,  all  round 
for  safety.  This  operation,  and  a  third  jour- 
ney to  the  sea-shore  to  collect  the  timber 
necessary,  filled  our  morning  so  completely, 
that  not  one  of  us  had  thought  about  dinner. 
For  this  once  we  contented  ourselves  with  a 
bit  of  ham  and  some  milk,  which  we  ate,  and 
returned  to  finish  our  aerial  palace,  which 
began  to  make  an  imposing  appearance.  We 
unhooked  our  hammocks  from  the  projecting 
roots,  and  by  means  of  my  pulley,  contrived 
to  hoist  them  up  the  tree.  The  sail-cloth 
roof  was  supported  by  the  thick  branches 
above ;  and  as  it  was  of  great  compass,  and 
hung  clown  on  every  side,  the  idea  occurred 
to  me  of  nailing  it  to  the  paling  on  two  sides, 
thus  getting  not  only  a  roof,  but  two  wralls 
also ;  the  immense  trunk  of  the  tree  forming 
a  third  side,  while  in  the  fourth  was  the  en- 
trance to  our  apartment ;  and  in  this  I  left  a 
large  aperture,  both,  as  a  means  of  seeing 

16 


226  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON 

what  passed  without,  and  admitting  a  current 
of  air  to  cool  us  in  this  burning  temperature. 
We  also  on  this  side  enjoyed  an  extensive 
view  of  the  vast  ocean,  and  its  lengthening 
shore.  The  hammocks  were  soon  hung  on 
the  branches,  and  every  thing  was  ready  for 
our  reception  that  very  evening.  Well  sat- 
isfied with  the  execution  of  my  plan,  I  de- 
scended with  Fritz,  who  had  assisted  me 
throughout  the  whole ;  and  as  the  day  was 
not  far  advanced,  and  I  observed  we  had  still 
some  planks  remaining,  we  set  about  contriv- 
ing a  large  table,  to  be  placed  between  the 
roots  of  the  tree,  and  surrounded  with 
benches ;  and  this  place,  we  said,  should  be 
called  our  dining-parlor.  For  this  time,  we 
performed  our  task  imperfectly,  for  I  confess 
I  was  much  fatigued.  The  table,  however, 
was  such  as  might  be  well  endured,  and  my 
wife  expressed  her  approbation  as  she  looked 
on,  busied  with  preparations  for  our  supper. 
In  the  meantime,  the  three  youngest  boys 
collected  all  the  pieces  of  wood  we  had  thrown 
down  from  the  tree,  and  a  quantity  of  small 
wood,  to  dry  in  a  heap,  at  a  small  distance 
from  our  fire-place. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  227 

Exhausted  by  the  fatigues  of  the  day,  I 
threw  myself  on  a  bank,  and  my  wife  having 
seated  herself  near  me,  I  thanked  her  for  the 
tender  care  she  was  ever  imposing  on  herself; 
and  then  I  observed  to  her,  that  the  many 
blessings  we  enjoyed  led  the  thoughts  natu- 
rally to  the  beneficent  giver  of  them  all ;  and 
to-morrow  being  a  Sabbath-day,  we  would 
rest  from  work,  in  obedience  to  his  command, 
and  otherwise  keep  it  holy.  We  then  sum- 
moned our  young  family,  und  prepared  them 
for  the  intended  solemnity.  I  called  their 
recollection  to  the  nature  of  the  Sabbath-day ; 
to  the  gratitude  due  from  us  to  an  Almighty 
being,  who  had  saved  an$  comforted  us  in  the 
hour  of  peril,  and  the  duty  of  our  prayers 
and  acknowledgements.  I  informed  them 
that,  after  performing  with  them  the  service 
of  the  church,  I  should  read  to  them  a  paper 
I  had  composed  for  the  occasion,  and  to 
which  I  had  given  the  name  of  a  parable  of 
the  Great  King.  The  children  expressed 
their  approbation  of  what  I  had  said,  each  in 
his  own  way,  and  we  now  assembled  round 
our  table  to  supper,  my  wife  holding  in  her 
hand  an  earthen  pot,  which  we  had  before 


228  THE  SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

observed  upon  the  fire,  and  the  contents  of 
which  we  were  all  curious  to  be  informed  of. 
She  took  off  the  cover,  and  with  the  fork 
drew  out  of  it  the  flamingo  which  Fritz  had 
killed.  She  informed  us  that  she  had  pre- 
ferred dressing  it  this  way,  to  roasting,  be- 
cause Ernest  had  assured  her  that  it  was  an 
old  bird,  which  would  prove  hard  and  tough, 
and  had  advised  her  to  improve  it  by  stew- 
ing. We  rallied  our  glutton  boy  on  this  foi- 
ble of  his  character,  and  his  brothers  gave 
him  the  name  of  the  cook.  We,  however, 
had  soon  reason  to  know  that  he  had  con- 
ferred upon  us  an  important  obligation ;  for 
the  bird  which,  roasted,  we  perhaps  should 
not  have  been  able  to  touch,  now  appeared 
excellent,  and  was  eaten  up  to  the  very  bones. 
While  we  were  enjoying  our  repast,  the  live 
flamingo  stalked  up  to  the  place  where  we 
were  sitting,  in  the  midst  of  our  flock  of  fowls, 
to  receive  his  part  of  the  repast.  He  had 
now  become  so  tame  that  we  had  released 
him  from  the  stake.  He  took  his  walks 
gravely  from  place  to  place,  and  looked  per- 
fectly contented  with  his  company.  His  fine 
plumage  was  a  most  pleasing  sight ;    while, 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  229 

on  the  other  hand,  the  sportive  tricks  and  the 
grimaces  of  our  little  monkey  afforded  the 
most  agreeable  spectacle  imaginable.  The 
little  animal  had  become  quite  familiar  with 
us ;'  jumped  from  the  shoulder  of  one  to  that 
of  another ;  always  caught  adroitly  the  meat 
we  threw  him,  and  ate  it  in  so  pleasant  a  way 
as  to  make  us  laugh  heartilv. 

The  boys  now,  by  my  direction,  lighted 
one  of  the  heaps  of  wood.  We  tied  long 
ropes  loosely  round  the  necks  of  our  dogs, 
purposing  to  mount  to  our  tent  with  the  ends 
in  my  hand,  that  I  might  be  able  to  let  them 
loose  upon  the  enemy  at  the  first  barking  I 
should  hear.  Every  one  was  eager  to  retire 
to  rest,  and  the  signal  for  ascending  the  lad- 
der  was  given.  The  three  eldest  boys  were 
up  in  an  instant ;  then  came  their  mother's 
turn,  who  proceeded  slowly  and  cautiously, 
and  arrived  in  perfect  safety.  My  own  as- 
cension was  last,  and  the  most  difficult ;  for  I 
carried  little  Francis  on  my  back,  and  the 
end  of  the  ladder  had  been  loosened  at  the 
bottom,  that  I  might  be  able  to  draw  it  up  in 
the  tent  during  the  night ;  every  step,  there- 
fore, was  made  with  the  greatest  difficulty,  in 


230  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

consequence  of  its  swinging  motion.  At  last, 
hcrwever,  I  got  to  the  top,  and,  to  the  admi- 
ration of  the  boys,  drew  the  ladder  after  me. 
It  appeared  to  them  that  we  were  in  one  of 
the  strong  castles  of  the  ancient  cavaliers,  in 
which,  when  the  draw-bridge  is  raised,  the  in- 
habitants are  secured  from  every  attack  of 
the  enemy.  Notwithstanding  this  apparent 
safety,  I  kept  our  guns  in  readiness  for  what- 
ever event  might  require  their  use.  We  now 
abandoned  ourselves  to  repose ;  our  hearts 
experienced  a  full  tranquility ;  and  the  fa- 
tigue we  had  all  undergone  induced  so  sound  a 
sleep,  that  daylight  shone  full  in  the  front  of 
our  habitation  before  our  eyes  had  opened. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Sabbath  and  the  Parable. 

On  awaking  in  the  morning,  we  were  all 
sensible  of  an  unusual  refreshment,  and  a  new 
active  mind.     "  Well,  young  ones,"  cried  I, 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  231 

jocosely,  "you  have  learned,  I  see,  how  to 
sleep  in  a  hammock  :  I  heard  not  a  single 
complaint  all  the  night ;  no  disputing  about 
room  from  any  one  of  you ;  all  was  still  and 
tranquil/'  —  "Ah,"  answered  they,  stretch- 
ing and  yawning  as  they  spoke,  "  we  were  so 
heartily  fatigued  yesterday,  that  it  is  no  won- 
der we  slept  soundly." 

Father.  —  Here,  then,  my  children,  is  an- 
other advantage  derived  from  labor ;  that  of 
procuring  a  sweet  and  peaceful  sleep. 

My  wife  could  not  help  wishing  we  had 
some  place  like  a  church  for  the  worship  of 
the  Sabbath,  till  I  said  to  her,  "  There  is  no 
place  in  the  world  that  may  not  serve  for  a 
church,  because  we  may  entertain  pious  sen- 
timents everywhere ;  and  this  majestic  arch 
of  Heaven,  the  immediate  work  of  the  Al- 
mighty, ought  more  effectually  to  raise  the 
soul  and  touch  the  heart,  than  an  edifice  of 
stone  made  bj  the  hand  of  man  !  " 

We  descended  the  ladder,  and  breakfasted 
on  warm  milk ;  we  served  the  animals  also 
with  their  meal,  and  then  we  all  sat  down  on 
the  tender  grass ;  the  boys  full  of  impatient 
curiosity ;  their  mother  absorbed  in  silent  re- 


232  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

flection,  her  hands  joined,  and  her  eyes  some- 
times turned  towards  the  sky ;  while  I  was 
penetrated  with  the  most  lively  desire  to  im- 
press upon  the  young  minds  of  my  children, 
a  subject  I  considered  of  the  highest  import- 
ance for  their  well-being,  both  in  this  world 
and  in  that  which  is  to  come. 

All  now  standing  up,  I  repeated  aloud  the 
church  service,  which  I  knew  by  heart,  and 
we  sang  some  verses  from  the  hundred-and- 
nineteenth  psalm,  which  the  boys  had  before 
learned ;  after  which  we  sat  down,  and  I  be- 
gan as  follows : 

"  My  clear  children,  there  was  once  a  Great 
King,  whose  kingdom  was  called  The  Coun- 
try of  Light  and  Reality,  because  the  purest 
and  softest  light  of  the  sun  reigned  there 
continually,  which  caused  the  inhabitants  to 
be  in  a  perpetual  state  of  activity.  On  the 
furthest  borders  of  this  kingdom,  northward, 
there  was  another  country,  which  also  be- 
longed to  the  Great  King,  and  the  immense 
extent  of  which  was  unknown  to  all  but  him- 
self. From  time  immemorial,  a  plan  the 
most  exact  of  this  country  had  been  preserved 
in  the  royal  archives.     This  second  kingdom 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  2o3 

"was  called  The  kingdom  of  Obscurity  or  of 
Night,  because  every  thing  in  it  was  gloomy 
and  inactive. 

"In  the  most  fertile  and  agreeable  part  of 
his  empire  of  Reality,  this  Great  King  had  a 
residence  called  the  Heavenly  City,  in  which 
he  lived  and  kept  his  court,  which  was  the 
most  brilliant  that  the  imagination  can  form 
an  idea  of.  Millions  of  guards,  and  servants 
high  in  dignity,  remained  for  ever  round  him, 
and  a  still  larger  number  held  themselves  in 
readiness  to  receive  his  commands.  The  first 
of  these  were  clothed  in  robes  of  cloth  that 
"was  lighter  than  silk,  and  white  as  snow ;  for 
white,  the  image  of  purity,  was  the  favorite 
color  of  the  Great  King.  Others  of  his  at- 
tendants carried  flaming  swords  in  their  hands, 
and  their  garments  displayed  the  most  bril- 
liant colors  of  the  rainbow ;  each  of  these 
stood  in  waiting  to  execute  the  will  of  the 
King,  wTith  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  on  re- 
ceiving from  him  the  slightest  sign.  All  were 
happy  to  be  admitted  into  his  presence  ;  their 
faces  shone  with  the  mildest  joy:  there  was 
but  one  heart  and  one  soul  among  them  ;  the 
sentiment  of  paternal  concord  so  united  these 


234  THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

beings,  that  no  envy  or  jealousy  ever  arose 
among  them.  The  common  centre  of  all  their 
thoughts,  and  all  their  sentiments,  was  devo- 
tion to  their  sovereign :  it  would  have  been 
impossible  either  to  see  or  converse  with 
them,  without  desiring  to  obtain  their  friend- 
ship, and  to  partake  their  lot.  Among  the 
rest  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Heavenly  City, 
there  were  some  less  close  in  their  attendance 
upon  the  Great  King ;  but  they  were  all  vir- 
tuous, all  happy,  all  had  been  enriched  by 
the  beneficence  of  the  monarch,  and,  what  is 
of  still  higher  price,  had  received  constant 
marks  of  his  paternal  care  ;  for  his  subjects 
were  all  equal  in  his  eyes,  and  he  loved  them 
and  treated  them  as  if  they  had  been  his 
children. 

u  The  great  King  had,  besides  the  two 
kingdoms  I  have  been  describing,  an  unin- 
habited island  of  considerable  extent :  it  was 
his  wish  to  people  and  cultivate  this  island, 
for  all  within  it  was  a  kind  of  chaos :  he  des- 
tined it  to  be  for  some  years  the  abode  of 
such  future  citizens  as  he  intended  to  receive 
finally  into  his  residence,  to  which  only  such 
of  his  subjects  were  admitted,  as  had  ren- 


T^TZ    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  235 

!^r?'l  themselves  worthy  by  their  conduct. 
This  island  was  called  Earthly  Abode,  he 
who  should  have  passed  some  time  in  it,  and 
by  his  virtues,  his  application  to  labor,  and 
the  cultivation  of  the  land,  should  have  ren- 
dered himself  worthy  of  reward,  was  after- 
wards to  be  received  into  the  Heavenly  City, 
and  made  one  of  its  happy  inhabitants. 

"  To  effect  this  end,  the  Great  King  caused 
a  fleet  to  be  equipped,  which  was  to  transport 
the  new  colonists  to  this  island.  These  he 
chose  from  the  kingdom  of  Night,  and  for  his 
first  gift  bestowed  upon  them  the  enjoyment 
of  light,  and  the  view  of  the  lovely  face  of 
nature,  of  which  they  had  been  deprived  in 
their  gloomy  and  unknown  abode.  It  will 
easily  be  imagined  that  they  arrived  joyful 
and  happy,  at  least  they  became  so  when 
they  had  been  for  a  short  time  accustomed 
to  the  multitude  of  new  objects  which  struck 
their  feeble  sight.  The  island  was  rich  and 
fertile  when  cultivated.  The  beneficent  King- 
provided  each  individual  who  wTas  disem- 
barked upon  it,  with  all  the  things  he  could 
want  in  the  time  he  had  fixed  for  their  stay 
m  it,  and  all  the  means  for  obtaining  the  cer- 


236  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON 

tainty  of  being  admitted  as  citizens  of  Mi 
magnificent  abode,  when  they  should  leave 
the  Earthly  Island.  All  that  was  required 
to  entitle  them  to  this  benefit  was,  that  they 
should  occupy  themselves  unceasingly  in  use- 
ful labor,  and  strictly  obey  the  commands  of 
the  Great  King,  which  he  made  known  to 
them.  He  sent  to  them  his  only  son,  who  ad- 
dressed them  from  his  father  in  the  following 
terms : 

"  'My  dear  children,  I  have  called  you 
from  the  kingdom  of  Night  and  Insensibility, 
to  render  you  happy  by  the  gifts  of  life, 
of  sentiment,  and  of  activity.  But  your 
happiness  for  the  most  part  will  depend  upon 
yourselves.  Y*>u  will  be  happy  if  you  wish 
to  be  so.  If  such  is  your  sincere  desire,  you 
must  never  forget  that  I  am  your  good  King, 
your  tender  father ;  and  you  must  faithfully 
fulfil  my  will  in  the  cultivation  of  the  country 
I  have  confided  to  your  care.  Each  of  you 
shall  receive,  on  his  arriving  at  the  island, 
the  portion  of  land  which  is  intended  for  him  ; 
and  my  further  commands  respecting  your 
conduct,  will  be  soon  communicated  to  you. 
I  shall  send  you  wise  and  learned  men,  who 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  237 

will  explain  to  you  my  commands ;  and  that 
you  may  of  yourselves  seek  after  the  light 
necessary  for  your  welfare,  and  remember 
my  laws  at  every  instant  of  your  lives,  it  is 
my  will  that  each  father  of  a  family  shall 
keep  an  exact  copy  of  them  in  his  house,  and 
read  them  daily  to  all  the  persons  who  belong 
to  him.  Further,  each  first  day  of  the  week 
I  require  to  be  devoted  to  my  service.  In 
each  colony,  all  the  people  shall  assemble  to- 
gether as  brothers  in  one  place,  where  shall 
be  read  and  explained  to  them  the  laws  con- 
tained in  my  archives.  The  rest  of  this  day 
shall  be  employed  in  making  serious  reflec- 
tions on  the  duties  and  destination  of  the  col- 
onists, and  on  the  best  means  to  fulfil  the 
same :  thus  it  shall  be  possible  to  all  to  re- 
ceive instruction  concerning  the  best  manner 
and  most  effectual  means  of  improving  the 
land  which  has  been  confided  to  your  care : 
thus  you  will  each  day  learn  to  manure,  to 
sow,  to  plant,  to  water,  and  cleanse  the  land 
from  tares,  and  from  all  evil  weeds  that  may 
choke  the  good  seed.  On  this  same  day, 
each  of  you  may  present  his  supplications, 
may  tell  me  what  he  stands  in  need  of,  and 


238  THE    SWISS    FAMIIA    R^filNSON". 

what  lie  desires  to  have,  to  forward  the  per- 
fection of  his  labor ;  all  these  requests  will 
appear  before  me,  and  I  shall  answer,  by 
granting  such  as  I  shall  think  reasonable,  and 
tending  to  a  salutary  end.  If  your  heart 
tells  you  that  the  various  benefits  you  enjoy, 
deserve  your  gratitude,  and  if  you  will  testify 
it  by  doubling  your  activity,  and  by  conse- 
crating to  me  the  day  I  have  chosen  for  my- 
self, I  will  take  care  that  this  day  of  rest, 
instead  of  being  an  injury  to  you,  shall  be- 
come a  benefit,  through  the  salutary  repose 
of  your  body,  and  that  of  the  animals  given 
you  to  assist  your  labors,  and  who,  as  well  as 
yourself,  should  enjoy  repose  on  that  day,  to 
recruit  their  strength.  Even  the  wild  ani- 
mals of  the  field,  and  of  the  forests,  ought  on 
that  clay  to  be  protected  from  the  pursuit  of 
the  hunter. 

"'He  who,  in  his  Earthly  Abode,  shall 
most  strictly  have  observed  my  will,  who  shall 
have  best  fulfilled  the  duties  of  a  brother  to- 
wards his  fellow  inhabitants,  who  shall  have 
preserved  his  land  in  the  best  order,  and  shall 
show  the  largest  produce  from  it,  shall  be  re- 
compensed for  his  deeds,  and  shall  become 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 


93< 


an  inhabitant  of  my  magnificent  residence 
in  the  Heavenly  City.  But  the  neglectful 
and  the  idle  man,  and  the  wicked  man, 
who  shall  have  spent  their  time  in  interrupt- 
ing the  useful  labors  of  others,  shall  be  con- 
demned to  pass  their  lives  in  slavery,  or,  ac- 
cording to  the  degree  of  their  wickedness, 
shall  be  condemned  to  live  in  subterraneous 
mines,  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth. 

"  '  From  time  to  time,  I  shall  send  ships  to 
fetch  certain  indivdiuals  from  the  Earthly 
Island,  to  reward  or  punish  them,  according 
as  they  have  done  well  or  ill ;  and  as  none 
will  be  warned  beforehand,  of  the  time  of  the 
coming  of  my  messenger,  it  will  be  well  for 
you  to  keep  watch,  that  you  may  be  ready  to 
perform  the  voyage,  and  worthy  to  be  re- 
ceived into  the  Heavenly  City.  It  will  not 
be  permitted  for  any  one  to  pass  by  stealth 
on  board  the  ship,  and  leave  his  abode  with- 
out my  orders ;  for  such  a  one  shall  be  se- 
verely punished.  I  shall  have  the  most 
certain  knowledge  of  all  that  passes  in  the 
Earthly  Island,  and  no  one  will  be  able  to 
deceive  me.  A  magical  mirror  will  at  all 
times  show  me  the  actions  of  each  individual 


240  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

in  the  island,  and  you  shall  be  judged  accord- 
ing to  your  most  secret  thoughts  and  ac- 
tions.' 

"  All  the  colonists  were  well  satisfied  with 
the  discourse  of  the  Great  King,  and  made 
him  the  most  sacred  promises.  After  a  short 
time  allowed  for  repose  from  the  fatigue  of 
the  voyage,  a  portion  of  land,  and  the  proper 
instruments  for  labor,  were  distributed  to  each 
of  the  strangers.  They  received  also  seeds, 
and  useful  plants,  and  young  trees,  for  pro- 
ducing them  refreshing  fruits.  Each  was 
then  left  at  liberty  to  act  as  he  pleased,  and 
increase  the  value  of  what  was  confided  to 
his  care.  But  what  happened  ?  After  some 
tnn£,  each  followed  the  suggestions  of  his 
fancy  :  one  planted  his  land  with  arbors,  flow- 
ery banks,  and  sweet-swelling  shrubs ;  all 
pleasing  to  the  sight,  but  which  brought  forth 
nothing.  Another  planted  wild  apple-trees, 
instead  of  the  good  fruit,  as  the  Great  King 
had  commanded ;  contenting  himself  with 
giving  high-sounding  names  to  the  worthless 
fruit  he  had  caused  to  be  brought  forth.  A 
third  had  indeed  sown  good  grain;  but  not 
knowing  how  to   distinguish  the  tares  that 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  241 

grew  up  along  with  it,  he  pulled  up  the  good 
plants  before  they  were  mature,  and  left  only 
the  tares  in  his  ground.  But  the  greater  part 
let  their  land  lie  fallow,  and  bestowed  no  la- 
bor upon  it,  having  spoiled  their  implements, 
or  lost  their  seed,  either  from  negligence  or 
idleness,  or  liking  better  to  amuse  themselves 
than  to  labor ;  many  of  them  had  wilfully 
misunderstod  the  instructions  of  the  Great 
King,  and  sought  by  subtle  turns  to  change 
their  meaning. 

"  Few,  very  few,  worked  with  diligence 
and  courage,  and  seeking  to  improve  their 
land,  according  to  the  orders  they  had  re- 
ceived. The  great  fault  of  these  was,  that 
they  would  not  believe  what  the  Great  King 
had  sent  to  tell  them.  •  All  the  fathers  of 
families  had  indeed  a  copy  of  the  laws  of  the 
Sovereign,  but  most  of  them  omitted  to  read 
in  the  book :  some  saying  that  it  was  useless 
to  read  it,  for  they  knew  it  by  heart,  while 
they  never  employed  their  thoughts  upon  it. 
Others  pretended  that  these  laws  were  good 
for  times  past,  but  were  no  longer  beneficial 
for  the  present  state  of  the  country.  Some 
had  even  the  audacity  to  assert,  that  it  con- 

17 


242  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

tained  many  inexplicable  contradictions,  that 
the  laws  it  prescribed  were  merely  supposed 
or  falsified,  and  that  they  had,  therefore,  a 
right  to  deviate  from  them.  Others  among 
them  maintained,  that  the  magical  mirror 
was  a  mere  fable ;  that  the  King  was  of  too 
merciful  a  nature  to  keep  galleys  ;  that  there 
was  no  such  place  as  the  subterranean  mines ; 
and  that  all  would  at  last  enter  the  Heavenly 
City.  From  habit  they  continued  to  cele- 
brate the  first  day  of  the  week,  but  by  far 
the  smallest  part  of  it  was  consecrated  to  the 
honor  of  the  Great  King.  Great  numbers  of 
them  dispensed  with  going  to  the  general  as- 
sembly, either  from  idleness,  or  to  employ 
themselves  in  occupations  which  had  been  ex- 
pressly forbidden.  By  far  the  greater  part 
of  the  people  considered  this  day  of  repose  as 
intended  for  pleasure,  and  thought  of  nothing 
but  adorning  and  amusing  themselves  as  soon 
as  daylight  appeared.  There  were  only  then 
a  small  number  of  persons  who  kept  the  day 
according  to  the  decree ;  and  even  of  those 
who  frequented  the  assembly,  many  had  their 
thoughts  absent,  or  were  sleepy,  or  engaged 
in  forming  empty  projects,  instead  of  listen- 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  243 

ing  to  the  words  which  fell  from  the  lips  of 
the  minister  of  the  Sovereign.  The  Great 
King,  however,  observed  unalterably  the  laws 
he  had  laid  down  and  announced,  respecting 
them.  From  time  to  time,  some  frigates  ap- 
peared on  their  coasts,  each  bearing  the  name 
of  some  disastrous  malady ;  and  these  were 
followed  by  a  large  ship  of  the  line,  named 
the  Grave,  on  board  of  which,  the  admiral, 
whose  name  was  Death,  caused  his  flag  of  two 
colors,  green  and  black,  to  be  constantly 
floating  in  the  air.  He  showed  the  colonists, 
according  to  the  situation  in  which  he  found 
them,  either  the  smiling  color  of  Hope,  or 
the  gloomy  color  of  Despair. 

"  '  This  fleet  always  arrived  without  being 
announced,  and  seldom  gave  any  pleasure  to 
the  inhabitants.  The  admiral  sent  the  cap- 
tains of  his  frigates,  to  seize  the  persons  he 
was  ordered  to  bring  back  with  him.  Many 
who  had  not  the  smallest  inclination,  were 
suddenly  embarked,  while  others,  who  had 
prepared  everything  for  the  harvest,  and 
whose  land  was  in  the  best  condition,  were 
also  seized.  But  these  last  took  their  depar- 
ture  cheerfully,    and   without   alarm;    well 


244  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

• 

knowing  that  nothing  hut  happiness  awaited 
them.  It  was  those  vrlio  were  conscious  they 
had  neglected  to  cultivate  their  land,  who 
felt  the  most  regret.  It  was  even  necessary 
to  employ  force,  to  bring  them  under  subjec- 
tion. When  the  fleet  was  ready  for  de- 
parture, the  admiral  sailed  for  the  port  of 
the  Royal  Residence;  and  the  Great  King 
who  was  present  on  their  arrival,  execut- 
ed with  strict  justice  both  the  rewards  and 
punishments  which  had  been  promised  to 
them.  All  the  excuses  alleged  by  those 
who  had  been  idle,  were  of  no  avail.  They 
were  sent  to  the  mines  and  to  the  galleys, 
while  those  who  had  obeyed  the  Great  King, 
and  well  cultivated  their  land,  were  admitted 
into  the  Heavenly  City,  clothed  in  robes  of 
brilliant  colors,  one  exceeding  the  other  ac- 
cording to  the  degree  of  merit."  —  Here,  my 
dear  children,  ends  my  parable.  May  you 
have  thoroughly  understood  its  meaning,  and 
may  you  reap  the  advantage  it  is  capable  of 
affording  you !  Make  it  the  subject  of  your 
reflections  the  whole  of  this  day.  You,  Fritz 
I  see,  are  thoughtful ;  tell  me  what  "struck 
you  most  in  my  narration. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  245 

Fritz.  —  The  goodness  of  the  Great  King, 
and  the  ingratitude  of  the  colonists,  father. 

Father.  —  And  you,  Ernest,  what  is  yOur 
thought  ? 

Frnest.  —  For  my  part,  I  think  they  were 
great  fools  to  have  made  so  bad  a  calcula- 
tion. What  did  they  get  by  conducting  them- 
selves as  they  did  ?  With  a  little  pains  they 
might  have  passed  a  very  agreeable  sort  of 
life  in  the  island,  and  would  have  been  sure 
of  going  afterwards  to  the  Heavenly  City. 

Jack.  —  To  the  mines,  gentlemen,  away 
with  you  !  you  have  well  deserved  it. 

Francis.  —  For  my  part,  I  should  have 
liked  best  to  have  lived  with  the  men  who 
were  dressed  in  the  colors  of  the  rainbow. 
How  beautifully  they  must  have  looked  ! 

Father. — This  is  well,  my  boys.  I  per- 
ceive that  each  of  you,  according  to  his  age 
and  character,  has  seized  the  meaning  of  my 
parable.  I  have  by  this  image  endeavored 
to  represent  to  you  the  conduct  of  God  to- 
wards man,  and  that  of  man  towards  God ; 
let  us  see  now  if  you  have  completely  seized 
the  sense. — I  then  put  different  questions  to 
them,  and  explained  what  they  had  not  per- 


246  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

fectly  comprehended;  and  after  a  short  re- 
view of  the  principal  parts  of  my  discourse, 
I  concluded  by  a  moral  application. 

"  Human  creatures,"  said  I,  "are  the 
colonists  of  God ;  we  are  required  to  perform 
the  business  of  probation  for  a  certain  period, 
and,  sooner  or  later,  are  destined  to  be  taken 
hence.  Our  final  destination  is  Heaven,  and 
a  perfect  happiness  with  the  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect,  and  in  the  presence  of  the 
bountiful  Father  of  us  all.  The  piece  of  land 
intrusted  to  each  is  the  soul;  and  according 
as  he  cultivates  and  ennobles  it,  or  neglects 
or  depraves  it,  will  be  his  future  reward  or 
punishment.  At  present,  dear  children,  that 
you  know  the  true  sense  of  my  parable,  each 
of  you  should  make  the  application  of  it  ac- 
cording to  his  own  consciousness.  You,  Fritz, 
should  think  of  the  subjects  who  planted  the 
wild  apples,  and  wished  to  make  them  pass 
for  sweet  savory  fruit  of  a  superior  kind. 
These  represent  persons  who  make  a  parade 
of  the  natural  virtues  belonging  to  their 
character,  and  which  are  consequently  exer- 
cised without  any  trouble  to  themselves; 
such  as  courage,  strength,  &c. :  who  prefer 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  247 

them  to  more  essential  qualities  acquired  by 
others,  with  sacrifices  and  labor  to  themselves ; 
and  who,  full  of  presumption  and  arrogance, 
consider  themselves  as  irreproachable,  because 
nature  has  given  them  personal  courage,  and 
bodily  strength,  and  a  certain  skill  in  the  use 
of  these  qualities. 

"  You,  Ernest,  should  think  of  the  sub- 
jects of  the  Great  King,  who  cultivated  their 
land  so  as  to  produce  arbors,  flowery  banks, 
and  sweet-smelling  shrubs,  and  such  produc- 
tions in  general  as  would  please  the  eye,  but 
which  produced  no  fruit.  These  are  they, 
who  give  their  whole  .attention  to  the  ac- 
quiring of  unfruitful  knowledge,  sciences, 
&c,  and  consider  with  a  sort  of  contempt 
the  things  more  immediately  required  for 
the  conduct  of  life ;  who  exert  themselves 
solely  for  the  understanding,  and  neglect  the 
heart;  whose  principal  aim  it  is,  to  obtain 
self-indulgences,  and  who  neglect  what  is  use- 
ful in  society. 

"  You,  Jack,  and  you,  Francis,  should 
apply  to  yourselves  the  case  of  those  men 
who  let  their  land  lie  fallow,  or,  in  their 
thoughtlessness,  mistook  the  grain,  and  sowed 


248  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

tares  instead  of  wheat.  These  are  the  neg- 
lectful subjects,  who  neither  think  nor  learn, 
but  give  to  the  winds  what  is  taught  them, 
or  entirely  forget  instruction  ;  who  reject  vir- 
tuous sentiments,  and  let  the  bad  ones  grow 
in  their  hearts.  But  for  ourselves,  one  and 
all,  we  will  adopt  the  model  of  the  good  and 
zealous  laborers;  and  should  our  exertions 
be  a  little  painful,  we  shall  think  of  the  re- 
ward which  awaits  us,  when  we  shall  have 
adorned  our  souls  with  all  that  is  good,  just, 
and  praiseworthy.  Thus,  when  death,  which 
cannot  fail  to  come  at  last,  shall  summon  us, 
we  may  follow  him  with  joy  to  the  throne  of 
the  Good  and  Great  King,  to  hear  him  pro- 
nounce these  sweet  and  consoling  words ;  \  0 
good  and  faithful  servant !  thou  hast  been 
tried,  and  found  faithful  in  many  things  ;  en- 
ter thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord.'  "  —  With 
these  words,  and  a  short  prayer  of  benedic- 
tion, I  concluded  the  solemnity  of  our  Sun- 
day ;  and  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing, 
that  my  four  sons  had  not  only  listened  at- 
tentively, but  that  they  were  struck  with  the 
application  I  had  made  to  each  of  them.  — 
They  remained  for  a  short  time  reflecting  in 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  249 

silence.  Jack  was  the  first  to  break  it :  — 
"  You  have  explained  to  us  every  part  of  the 
parable,  father,  except  the  copy  of  the  laws 
of  the  Great  King,  which  was  to  be  kept  and 
read  in  every  family  :  have  you  one  of  these 
copies  ?  for  you  never  read  it  to  us." 

Father.  —  My  children,  this  copy  is  the 
Holy  Bible,  which  contains  all  God's  laws, 
and  which  we  ought  constantly  to  study.  I 
cannot  forgive  myself  for  not  having  thought 
of  bringing  it  from  the  vessel.  Should  we 
not  be  able „  to  go  another  voyage,  we  shall 
forever  be  deprived  of  this  divine  doctrine. 

My  Wife.  —  Have  you  then  forgot  my  en- 
chanted bag,  which  I  have  promised  shall 
furnish  every  thing  you  can  desire  ?  You 
wish  for  a  Bible.  In  a  minute  I  will  put  one 
into  your  hands  ;  and  heartily  do  I  rejoice  in 
having  the  power  to  procure  you  so  great  a 
satisfaction. 

Father.  —  Most  excellent  of  women  !  Give 
me  then  the  inestimable  book,  these  laws  of 
the  Great  King,  which  from  this  moment  we 
will  take  for  the  rule  of  our  lives.  She 
opened  her  bag,  and  with  joy  I  received  from 
her  the  book  of  life.     I  opened  it,  and  read 


250  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

some  passages  from  it  to  my  family.  In  this 
solitude,  in  which  for  so  long  a  time  we  had 
heard  only  our  own  thoughts  expressed  in  an 
appropriate  language,  we  were  singularly  af- 
fected with  the  voice  from  Heaven,  which 
now  seemed  to  address  us :  we  felt  forcibly 
that,  notwithstanding  our  exile,  we  were  still 
connected  with  the  community  of  mankind 
by  the  invisible  tie  of  the  same  religion,  and 
the  same  Father :  we  were  forever  numbered 
among  the  children  of  God,  to  whom  he  en- 
joins laws,  and  on  whom  he  bestows  his  care 
no  less  in  a  desert,  than  in  an  immense  cap- 
ital. I  explained  with  the  utmost  care  what 
I  read  them,  and  I  gave  the  book  in  turn  to 
each  of  the  boys,  that  they  might  have  the 
pleasure  of  reading  for  themselves.  I  chose 
in  preference  such  passages  as  were  applica- 
ble to  our  circumstances.  We  then  raised 
our  hearts  to  God,  to  thank  him  for  so  signal 
a  benefit  as  the  preservation  of  our  Bible. 
My  young  folks  still  remained  thoughtful  and 
serious ;  but  by  and  by  the  gaiety  natural  to 
their  age  prevailed  and  each  slipped  away  to 
seek  the  recreation  he  liked  best. 

The  next  morning,  the   boys   assembled 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  251 

round  me  with  a  petition  that  I  would  show 
them  how  to  use  arrows.  We  accordingly 
sat  down  on  the  grass ;  I  took  out  my  knife, 
and,  with  the  remains  of  a  bamboo  cane,  be- 
gan to  make  a  bow.  I  was  well  satisfied  to 
observe  them  one  and  all  take  a  fancy  to 
shooting  with  an  arrow,  having  been  desirous 
to  accustom  them  to  this  exercise,  which  con- 
stituted the  principal  defense  of  the  warriors 
of  old,  and  might  possibly  become  our  only 
means  of  protection  and  subsistence :  our 
provision  of  powder  must  at  last  be  ex- 
hausted ;  we  might  even,  from  moment  to 
moment,  be  deprived  of  it  by  accident;  it 
therefore  was  of  the  utmost  importance  to  us, 
to  acquire  some  other  means  of  killing  ani- 
mals, or  attacking  our  enemies.  The  Carib- 
bees,  I  recollected,  were  taught  at  a  very 
tender  age,  to  strike  an  object  at  the  distance 
of  thirty  or  forty  steps  ;  they  hit  the  smallest 
birds  perched  on  the  top  of  the  tallest  trees. 
Why  then  should  it  not  be  possible  for  my 
boys  to  learn  to  do  the  same  ? 

While  I  was  silently  reflecting  on  the  sub- 
ject, employed  in  finishing  a  bow,  Ernest, 
who  had  been  observing  me  for  some  time, 


252  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

slipped   suddenly  away;    and  Fritz   coming 
up  at  the  same  moment,  with  the  wetted  skin 
of  the  tiger-cat  in  his  hand,  I  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  the  circumstance.     I  began  my  in- 
structions to  my  eldest  boy   respecting  the 
trade  of  a  tanner.     I  told  him  the  method  of 
getting  rid  of  the  fat  of  the  skin,  by  rubbing 
it  over  with  sand,  and  placing  it  in  running 
water,  till  it  had  no  longer  any  appearance 
of  flesh,  or  any  smell ;    next  to  rub  it  with 
soft  butter,  to  make  it  supple,  and  then  to 
stretch  the  skin  in  different  directions ;  and 
also  to  make  use  of  some  eggs  in  the  opera- 
tion, if  his  mother  could  spare  them. '   You 
will  not  at  first  produce  such  excellent  work- 
manship as  I  have  seen  of  this  kind  from 
England ;  but  with  a  little  patience,  regret- 
ting neither  your  time  nor  your  labor,  you- 
will   have    completed    some    decent-looking 
cases,  which  will  give  you  the  more  pleasure, 
from  being  the   work  of  your  own  hands. 
When  your  skin  shall  have  thus  been  pre- 
pared, cut  certain  small  cylinders  of  wood  of 
the  size  and  length  required ;  scoop  these  cyl- 
inders hollow,  so  as  to  form  a  convenient  case 
for  a  knife,  a  fork,  or  a  spoon ;    then  stretch 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  253 

jour  softened  skin  upon  the  surface  of  the 
cylinders,  in  such  a  manner,  that  the  skin 
may  reach  a  little  beyond  the  extremity  of 
the  wood,  and  close  at  the  top ;  you  have 
nothing  more  to  do,  than  to  let  the  skin  cling 
to,  and  dry  upon  these  moulds. 

At  this  moment  we  heard  the  firing  of  a 
gun,  which  proceeded  from  our  tent  in  the 
tree,  and  two  birds  at  the  same  time  fell  dead 
at  our  feet.  We  were  at  once  surprised  and 
alarmed,  and  all  eyes  were  turned  upwards 
to  the  place.  There  we  saw  Ernest  standing 
outside  the  tent,  a  gun  in  his  hand,  and  heard 
him  triumphantly  exclaiming,  "  catch  them ! 
catch  them  there  !  I  have  hit  them  ;  and  you 
see  I  did  not  run  away  for  nothing."  He 
descended  the  ladder  joyfully,  and  ran  with 
Francis  to  take  up  the  two  birds  ;  while  Fritz 
and  Jack  mounted  to  our  castle,  hoping  to 
meet  with  the  same  luck. 

One  of  the  dead  birds  proved  to  be  a  sort 
of  thrush,  and  the  other  was  a  very  small 
kind  of  pigeon,  which  in  the  Antilles  is  called 
an  ortolan :  they  are  very  fat,  and  of  a  deli- 
cious taste.  We  now  observed,  for  the  first 
time,  that  the  wild  figs  began  to  ripen,  and 


254  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

that  they  attracted  these  birds.  I  fore- 
saw, in  consequence,  that  we  were  about  to 
have  our  table  furnished  "with  a  dish  which 
even  a  nobleman  might  envy  us.  I  gave  the 
boys  leave  to  kill  as  many  of  them  as  they 
liked.  I  knew  that,  half  roasted  and  put 
into  barrels  with  melted  butter  thrown  over 
them,  they  would  keep  a  long  time,  and 
might  prove  an  excellent  resource.  My  wife 
set  about  stripping  off  the  feathers  of  the 
birds,  to  dress  them  for  our  dinner.  I  seated 
myself  by  her  side,  and  proceeded  in  my 
work  of  arrow-making. 

Thus  finished  another  day.  Supper  ended, 
and  prayers  said,  we  ascended  the  ladder  in 
procession ;  and  each  got  into  his  hammock 
to  taste  the  sweets  of  a  tranquil  sleep. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Conversation,  a  Walk,  and  important  Discoveries. 

Jack  had  finished  the  trial  of  his  arrows : 
they  flew  to  admiration ;  and  he  practised  his 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  255 

new  art  incessantly.  Little  Francis  waited 
with  impatience  for  the  moment  when  he 
should  try  also,  and  followed  with  his  eyes 
every  stroke  I  made.  But  when  I  had  fin- 
ished my  bow,  and  prepared  some  little  ar- 
rows for  him,  I  must  next  undertake  to  make 
him  a  quiver ;  I  took  some  bark  from  the 
branch  of  a  tree,  which  came  off  in  a  round 
form  ;  and  folding  the  edges  over  each  other, 
I  stuck  them  together  with  some  glue  pro- 
duced from  our  soupcakes.  I  next  stuck  on 
a  round  piece  to  serve  for  the  bottom  ;  and 
then  tied  to  it  a  loop  of  string  which  I  hung 
round  his  neck.  He  put  his  arrows  into  it ; 
and,  quite  happy,  took  his  bow  in  his  hand, 
and  ran  to  try  his  skill  by  the  side  of  his 
brother.  Fritz  had  also  cleaned  and  prepared 
his  materials  for  the  cases,  when  his  mother 
summoned  us  to  dinner.  We  cheerfully 
placed  ourselves  under  the  shade  of  our  tree, 
round  the  table  I  had  manufactured.  At  the 
end  of  the  repast,  I  made  the  following  prop- 
osition to  the  boys,  which  I  was  sure  would 
give  them  pleasure. 

"  What  think  you,  my  good  friends,"  said 
I,  "of  giving  a  name  to  the  place  of  our 


253  ;:/EE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

abode,  and  to  the  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try which  are  known  to  us  ?  I  do  not  mean 
a  general  name  to  the  whole  island,  but  to 
the  objects  we  are  most  concerned  with :  this 
will  make  us  better  understand  each  other, 
when  conversing  about  them ;  and  also  pre- 
sent to  us  the  soothing  illusion  of  inhabiting 
a  country  already  known  and  peopled." 

They  all  exclaimed,  joyfully,  that  the  idea 
was  excellent. 

Jack.  —  Oh !  pray,  father,  let  us  invent 
some  very  long  names,  and  that  are  very  dif- 
ficult to  be  pronounced.  I  should  be  glad 
that  those  who  shall  read  about  us,  should  be 
a  little  puzzled  to  remember  the  names  of 
the  places  and  things  that  belonged  to  us. 
What  pains  has  it  not  cost  me  to  remember 
their  Monomotapa,  their  Zanguehar,  their 
Coromandel,  and  many  other  still  more  diffi- 
cult. Ah !  now  we  shall  take  our  revenge 
of  them. 

Father.  —  This  would  be  well,  if  it  were 
probable  that  our  history  in  this  country, 
and  the  names  we  shall  have  bestowed,  were 
^kely  to  be  objects  of  public  curiosity;  but 
in  the  meanv/hile  you  forget  that  our  own, 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  257 

organs  will  be  fatigued,  by  frequently  pro- 
nouncing such  barbarous  words  as  you  pro- 
pose. 

Jade.  —  How  shall  we  manage,  then  ? 
What  pretty  names  can  we  find  ? 

Father.  —  We  will  do  as  all  sorts  of  na- 
tions have  done  before  us.  We  will  call  the 
places  by  different  words  from  our  own  lan- 
guage, that  shall  express  some  particular 
circumstance  with  which  we  have  been  con- 
cerned. 

Jack.  — Well,  so  we  will :  I  shall  like  this 
still  better.     Where  shall  we  begin  ? 

Father.  —  We  shall  naturally  begin  with 
the  bay  by  which  we  qntered  this  country. 
What  shall  we  call  it  ?  What  say  you,  Fritz  ? 
You  must  speak  first,  for  you  are  the  eldest. 

Fritz.  —  Let  us  call  it  Oyster  Bay ;  you 
remember  what  quantities  of  oysters  we  found 
in  it. 

Jack.  —  Oh,  no  !  let  it.  rather  be  called 
Lobster  Bay ;  for  you  cannot  have  forgot 
what  a  large  one  it  was  that  caught  hold  of 
my  leg,  and  which  I  carried  home  to  you. 

Ernest.  —  Why  then  we  may  as  well  call 
it  the  Bay  of  Tears,  for  you  must  remember 

18 


258  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

that  you  blubbered  loud  enough  for  all  of  us 
to  hear  you. 

My  Wife.  —  My  advice  would  be  that,  out 
of  gratitude  to  God,  who  conducted  us  hither 
in  safety,  we  ought  to  call  it  Providence 
Bay,  or  the  Bay  of  Safety. 

Father.  —  These  words  are  both  appropri- 
ate and  sonorous,  and  please  me  extremely. 
But  what  name  shall  we  give  to  the  spot 
where  we  first  set  up  our  tent  ? 

Fritz.  —  Let  us  call  it  simply  Tent  House. 

Father.  —  That  will  do  very  well.  And 
the  little  islet  at  the  entrance  of  Providence 
Bay,  in  which  we  found  so  many  planks  and 
beams  that  enabled  us  to  make  our  bridge, 
how  shall  it  be  named  ? 

Ernest.  —  It  may  be  called  Sea-Gfull  Is- 
land, or  Shark  Island  ;  for  it  was  here  we 
saw  those  animals. 

Father.  —  I  am  for  the  last  of  these  names, 
Shark  Island  ;  for  it  was  the  shark  that  was 
the  cause  of  the  sea-gulls  being  there ;  and 
thus  we  shall  also  have  a  means  of  commem- 
orating the  courage  and  the  triumph  of  Fritz, 
who  killed  the  monster. 

Jack.  —  For  the  same  reason,  we  will  call 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  259 

the  marsh,  in  which  you  cut  the  canes  for 
our  arrows.  Flamingo  Marsh. 

Father.  —  Quite  right,  I  think ;  and  the 
plain,  through  which  we  passed  on  our  way 
to  this  place,  Porcupine  Field,  in  memory  of 
your  skilful  encounter  with  the  animal.  But 
now  comes  the  great  question,  —  What  shall 
we  give  to  our  present  abode  ? 

Ernest.  —  It  ought  to  be  called,  simply, 
Tree  Castle. 

Fritz.  — No,  no,  that  will  not  do  at  all ;  that 
is  the  same  as  if,  when  we  wanted  to  name  a 
town,  we  called  it  The  Toivn.  Let  us  invent 
a  more  noble  name. 

Jack.  —  Yes,  so  we  will.  I  say  Fig  Toivn. 
Fritz.  —  Ha,  ha,  ha  !  a  noble  name,  it  must 
be  confessed !  Let  us  call  it  The  Eagle  s  Nest, 
which  I  am  sure  has  a  much  better  sound. 
Besides,  our  habitation  in  the  tree  is  really 
much  more  like  a  nest,  than  a  town,  and  the 
eagle  cannot  but  ennoble  it,  since  he  is  the 
king  of  birds. 

Father.  —  Will  you  let  me  decide  the  ques- 
tion for  you  ?  I  think  our  abode  should  be 
called  The  Falcon's  Nest ;  for,  you  are  not 
arrived  at  the  dignity  of  eagles,  but  are,  too 


260  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

truly,  poor  simple  birds  of  prey ;  and  like 
the  falcon,  you  also  are,  I  trust,  obedient, 
docile,  active,  and  courageous.  Ernest  can 
•  have  no  objection  to  this ;  for,  as  he  knows, 
falcons  make  their  nests  in  large  'trees.  All 
exclaimed,  clapping  their  hands,  "  Yes,  yes, 
we  will  have  it  The  Falcon  s  Nest  !  the  sound 
is  quite  chivalrous;  so  health  to  Falcon  s Nest 
Castle!  "  cried  they,  all  looking  up  to  the 
tree,  and  making  low  bows.  I  poured  out  a 
small  quantity  of  sweet  wine,  and  presented 
it  to  each,  to  solemnize  our  baptism.  —  "  Now 
then,"  said  I,  "for  the  promontory,  where 
Fritz  and  I  in  vain  wearied  our  eyes,  in 
search  of  our  companions  of  the  vessel  ?  I 
think  it  may  properly  be  called  Cape  Disap- 
pointment." 

All.  —  Yes,  this  is  excellent.  And  the 
river  with  the  bridge 

Father.  —  If  you  wish  to  commemorate  one 
of  the  greatest  events  of  our  history,. it  ought 
to  be  called  The  JachalVs  River  ;  for  these 
animals  crossed  it  when  they  came  and  at- 
tacked us,  and  it  was  there  that  one  of  them 
was  killed.  The  bridge  I  should  name  Fam- 
ily Bridge,  because  we  were  all  employed  in 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  281 

its  construction,  and  all  crossed  it  together 
in  our  way  to  this  place.  Let  me  ask  you 
all,  if  it  will  not  be  a  great  pleasure  to  con- 
verse about  the  country  we  inhabit,  now  that 
we  have  instituted  names  as  if  every  thing 
belonged  to  us? 

Ernest.  — -  It  will  be  just  as  if  we  had  farms 
and  country  houses,  all  'dependent  upon  our 
castle. 

Francis.  —  It  is  the  same  as  if  we  were 
kings. 

My  Wife.  —  And  the  queen  mother  is  not 
without  hope,  that  her  little  slips  of  majesty 
will  conduct  themselves  mercifully  towards 
their    subjects,   the    birds,    the    agoutis,   the 

geese,  and  the  flamingoes  ;  the What 

more  shall  I  say  ?  for  I  do  not  know  the  fam- 
ily name  of  all  your  vassals.  Let  me  there- 
fore end,  by  hoping  that  you  will  not  depop- 
ulate your  kingdom. 

Fritz.  —  No,  mother,  we  will  take  care  of 
that.  We  will  endeavor  to  extirpate  only 
those  among  our  subjects  who  are  wicked. 

In  this  pleasing  kind  of  chat,  the  time  of 
dinner  passed  agreeably  away.  We  settled 
the  basis  of  a  geography  of  this  our  new  coun- 


262  THE   SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

try ;  and  amused  ourselves  with  saying,  that 
it  must  go  by  the  first  post  to  Europe. 

As  the  evening  advanced,  and  the  intense 
heat  of  the  day  began  to  diminish,  I  invited 
all  my  family  to  take  a  walk.  "  Leave  your 
work  for  this  time,  my  boys,"  said  I,  "and 
let  us  make  a  short  excursion ;  let  us  seek, 
in  the  beautiful  face  of  nature,  the  traces  of 
the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  Creator. 
Which  way  shall  we  direct  our  steps  ?  " 

Fritz.  —  Let  us  go  to  Tent  House,  father ; 
we  are  in  want  of  powder  and  shot  for  the 
little  consumers  of  our  figs;  nor  must  we 
miss  our  dinner  for  to-morrow,  or  forget  that 
we  are  to  secure  a  supply  for  winter. 

My  Wife.  —  I  too  vote  for  Tent  House ; 
my  butter  is  nearly  gone,  for  Fritz  took  an 
unreasonable  share  for  his  new  trade  of  tan- 
ning; also,  I  have  never  failed  to  observe, 
that  those  who  most  zealously  preach  a  life 
of  frugality  and  economy,  are  at  least  as  well 
satisfied  as  the  rest,  when  I  present  them 
with  a  savory  dinner. 

Ernest.  —  If  we  go  to  Tent  House,  let 
us  try  to  bring  away  some  of  the  geese 
and  ducks  with  us ;   they  will  look  very  well 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  263 

swimming  about  in  our  stream  here,  by  Fal- 
con's Nest. 

Jack.  —  I  will  undertake  to  catch  them,  if 
any  one  will  help  to  bring  them  home. 

Francis.  —  And  I  will  catch  my  handker- 
chief full  of  lobsters  in  the  Jackall's  River, 
and  we  will  put  them  into  Falcon's  Stream, 
where,  no  doubt,  they  will  thrive  to  admira- 
tion. 

Father.  —  You  really  all  of  you  assign 
such  good  reasons,  that  I  see  I  must  yield  to 
them.  To  Tent  House,  then,  we  will  go; 
but  we  will  not  take  our  accustomed  road 
along  the  sea-shore,  but  rather  vary  our 
pleasure,  by  trying  to  explore  some  other 
way.  We  will  keep  along  our  own  little 
stream  as  far  as  the  wall  of  rocks :  it  will  be 
easy  for  us  to  cross  it,  by  jumping  from  stone 
to  stone,  and  so  to  get  to  Tent  House :  we 
will  return  with  our  provisions  by  the  road 
of  Family  Bridge,  and  along  the  sea-shore. 
This  new  route  may  possibly  furnish  some 
additional  discoveries. 

My  idea  was  highly  applauded,  and  al^  was 
soon  arranged  for  our  setting  out.  Fritz  was 
adorned  with   his   fine   tiger-cat-made  belt. 


264  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

Jack  had  his  belt  also  armed  with  two  pis- 
tols, round  his  waist.  Each  carried  a  gun 
and  a  game  bag ;  even  little  Francis  had  his 
bow  in  his  hand,  and  his  quiver  on  his  shoul- 
der. Their  mother  was  the  only  person  not 
burdened  with  a  gun;  but  she  carried  her 
large  butter-pot,  to  fill  it  at  our  large  store- 
house. Turk  marched  before  us,  with  his 
coat  of  mail  studded  with  spikes,  but  it  was 
apparent  that  he  felt  intimidated  and  ill  at 
ease ;  his  step  was  therefore  slow  and  quiet. 
Our  rout  along  the  stream  was  at  first  ex- 
tremely-agreeable, being  sheltered  by  the 
shade  of  large  trees,  while  the  ground  under 
our  feet  was  a  short  and  soft  kind  of  grass. 
To  prolong  the  pleasure  of  our  walk,  we  pro- 
ceeded slowly,  amusing  ourselves  with  looking 
about  us  to  the  right  and  left;  the  eldest 
boys  made  frequent  escapes  on  before,  so 
that  we  sometimes  lost  sight  of  them.  In 
this  manner  we  reached  the  end  of  the  wood ; 
but  the  country  now  appeared  to  be  less  open, 
we  thought  it  would  be  prudent  to  bring  our 
whole  company  together.  On  looking  for- 
ward, we  saw  the  boys  approaching  us  full 
gallop,  and  this  time,  for  a  wonder,  the  grave 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  265 

Ernest  was  first.  He  reached  me  panting 
for  breath,  and  so  full  of  joy  and  eagerness, 
that  he  could  not  pronounce  a  single  word 
distinctly ;  but  he  held  out  his  hand,  which 
contained  three  little  balls  of  a  light  green 
color. 

"We  have  found  a  prize,  indeed,  father," 
cried  he  at  last,  when  he  had  recovered  his 
voice;  "we  have  found  some  potato  seed!" 

"  What  say  you  ?  potato  seed  ?  "  inquired 
I  joyfully ;  "  have  you  really  been  so  fortun- 
ate ?  Come  near,  every  one  of  you,  and  let 
me  look  at  your  little  balls;  "  for  I  scarcely 
dared  believe  in  so  happy  an  event,  as  the 
discovery  of  a  plant  which  would  place  us 
forever  beyond  the  reach  of  hunger,  and  even 
of  apprehension. 

We  all  hastened  to  the  place  where  these 
tubercles  had  been  gathered,  and,  with  ex- 
treme joy  we  found  there  a  large  plantation 
of  potato  plants;  a  number  of  them  were 
covered  with  their  lilac  and  yellow  blossoms, 
the  sight  of  which  conveyed  more  pleasure  to 
our  hearts  than  if  they  had  been  the  most 
fragrant  roses.  Jack  bawled  out,  jumping 
for  joy,   "  They  ,  are   really  potatoes  !    and 


266  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

though  it  was  not  I  who  discovered  them,  at 
least  it  shall  be  I  who  will  dig  them  up." 
Saying  this,  he  knelt  down  and  began  to 
scratch  them  up  from  the  earth  with  his 
hands  ;  the  rest  of  us,  unwilling  to  be  idle 
spectators,  set  to  work  also :  with  our  knives 
and  sticks  we  soon  procured  a  sufficient  num- 
ber to  fill  our  bags  and  our  pockets. 

"There  are,"  observed  I,  "different  kinds 
of  vegetables,  more  succulent  and  more  deli- 
cate than  the  potato  ;  but  it  is  this  plain  sus- 
tenance that  can  be  eaten  for  the  longest 
time  together,  without  satiety :  accordingly, 
food  of  this  nature,  such  as  bread,  rice,  po- 
tatoes, obtains  on  the  whole,  a  preference 
over  provisions  possessing  a  higher  flavor. 
Can  you  tell  me,  boys,  the  reason  of  this  ?  " 

Ernest.  —  I  know ;  it  is  because  they  are 
more  wholesome. 

Jack.  —  And  because  they  occasion  no  dis- 
gust;  I  could  eat  potatoes  every  day  of  my 
life,  without  being  tired  of  them. 

Father.  —  All  you  say  is  true  ;  in  future 
they  will  serve  us  for  bread,  and  often  indeed 
for  our  whole  dinner.  But  let  us  for  the  pres- 
ent dismiss  the  subject  of  our  unexpected 
good  fortune,  and  resume  our  expedition. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  267 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Continuation   of  the  preceding    Chapter ;    and 
more  Discoveries. 

Conversing  on  different  subjects,  we 
reached  the  long  chain  of  rocks,  over  which 
our  pretty  Falcon  Stream  made  its  escape  in 
a  cascade,  delighting  at  once  the  eye  and  the 
ear  in  its  progress.  We  thus  reached  Jack- 
all's  River,  and  from  thence  to  Tent-House, 
having  with  difficulty  pushed  through  the 
high  grass  which  presented  itself.  Our  fa- 
tigue, however,  was  relieved  by  the  uncom- 
mon beauty  of  the  scenery  around :  on  the 
right  hand  was  a  boundless  sea ;  on  the  left, 
the  island,  with  the  bay  by  which  it  was  ac- 
cessible, and  the  chain  of  rocks,  forming  al- 
together an  assemblage  of  the  picturesque, 
equal  to  what  the  liveliest  fancy  could  desire. 
We  distinguished  different  families  of  grasses, 
many  of  them  of  the  thorn-leaved  species, 
and   stronger   than  those  cultivated  in  the 


268  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

green-houses  of  Europe.  There  was  also  in 
abundance  the  Indian  fi2\  with  its  large  broad 
leaf;  aloes  of  different  forms  and  colors;  the 
superb  prickly  candle,  or  cactus,  bearing 
straight  stalks,  taller  than  a  man,  and  crown- 
ed with  long,  straight  branches,  forming  a 
sort  of  star.  The  broad  plantain  spread 
along;  the  rocks  its  innumerable  boughs  twist- 
■  ed  with  each  other,  hanging  down  perpendic- 
ularly, and  ornamented  with  flowers,  which 
grew  in  large  tufts,  and  were  of  the  brightest 
rose-color,  while  that  which  pleased  us  best, 
and  which  was  found  there  in  great  abund- 
ance, was  the  king  of  fruits,  both  for  figure 
and  relish,  the  crowned  pine-apple,  of  which 
we  all  partook  with  avidity. 
,  Soon  after,  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  dis- 
cover among  the  multitude  of  plants  which 
grew  either  at  the  foot  or  in  the  clefts  of  the 
rock,  the  karata  (the  Bromelia  Karata  of 
Linnseus),  many  of  which  were  now  in  blos- 
som. Travelers  have  given  so  perfect  a  de- 
scription of  this  plant,  that  it  was  impossible 
I  should  mistake  it.  I  pointed  out  to  the 
boys  the  immense  size  of  its  leaves,  hollowed 
in  the  middle  like  a  saucer,  in  which  rain  is 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  269 

for  a  long  time  preserved ;  also,  its  beautiful 
red  flowers.  As  I  was  acquainted  with  the 
properties  of  this  useful  plant,  the  pith  of 
which  is  used  as  tinder  by  the  Negroes,  who 
also  make  a  strong  kind  of  thread  from  the 
fibres  of  its  leaves,  I  was  not  less  satisfied 
with  the  discovery  than  I  had  been  with  that 
of  the  potatoes.  Wishing  to  exhibit  one  of 
its  uses  to  my  children,  I  desired  Ernest  to 
take  out  my  flint  and  steel. 

I  took  a  dried  stalk  of  the  tree,  stripped 
off  the  bark,  and  there  appeared  a  kind  of 
dry  spongy  substance,  which  I  laid  upon  the 
flint ;  and  then  striking  it  writh  a  steel,  it  in- 
stantly caught  fire.  The  boys  looked  on  with 
astonishment,  and  soon  began  to  caper  about, 
exclaiming  :   "  Long  live  the  tender-tree  !  " 

"Here,  then,"  said  I,  "we  have  an  article 
of  greater  usefulness  than  if  it  served  merely 
to  gratify  the  appetite.  Your  mother  will 
next  inform  us  what  materials  she  will  use 
for  sewing  your  clothes,  when  her  provision 
of  thread  from  the  enchanted  bag  is  ex- 
hausted." 

My  Wife. — I  have  long  been  uneasy  upon 
this  very  subject,   and  would  willingly   ex- 


270  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

change  our  greatest  luxury  for  some  hemp  or 
flax. 

Father.  —  And  your  wish  shall  be  accom- 
plished. If  you  examine,  you  will  find  some 
excellent  thread  under  the  leaves  of  this  ex- 
traordinary plant,  where  all-provident  nature 
has  placed  a  storehouse  of  this  valuable  ar- 
ticle, though  the  lengths  of  thread  will  be 
found  not  longer  than  the  leaf.  I  accord- 
ingly drew  out  of  one  of  the  leaves  a  strong 
piece  of  thread  of  a  red  color,  which  I  gave 
to  my  wife.  "  How  fortunate  it  is  for  us," 
said  she,  "that  you  have  had  the  habit  of 
reading  and  of  study !  None  of  us  would 
have  had  a  thought  about  this  plant,  or  have 
conceived  that  it  could  be  of  any  use  :  —  but 
will  it  not  be  difficult  to  draw  out  the  lengths 
of  thread  through  the  prickles  that  surround 
them?" 

Father.  —  Not  in  the  least ;  we  shall  put 
the  leaves  to  dry,  either  in  the  sun,  or  by  a 
gentle  fire.  The  useless  part  of  the  leaf  will 
then  separate  by  being  beaten,  and  the  mass 
of  thread  will  remain. 

Fritz.  —  I  see  clearly,  father,  that  we 
ought  not  to  trust  to  appearances ;  but  one 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON'.  271 

may,  I  suppose,  assert  that  there  are  no  good 
qualities  in  the  prickly  plants,  which  are 
growing  here  in  all  directions,  and  wounding 
the  persons  who  go  near  them :  of  what  use 
can  they  possibly  be  ? 

Father.  —  The  greatest  part  of  those  pos- 
sess medicinal  virtues;  great  use  is  mat^e  in 
pharmacy  of  the  aloe,  which  produces  such 
abundance  of  beautiful  flowers ;  in  green- 
houses in  Europe,  some  have  been  seen  to 
bear  more  than  three  thousand  blossoms. 
At  Carlsbad,  upon  the  estates  of  Count  de 
Limbourg,  there  was  an  aloe-tree  twenty-six 
feet  in  height ;  it  had  twenty-eight  branches, 
which  branches  bore  more  than  three  thou- 
sand blossoms  in  the  space  of  a  month.  At 
Paris,  at  Leyden,  in  Denmark,  there  have 
been  also  some  exceedingly  curious  specimens 
of  this  tree ;  many  of  them  are  full  of  a  re- 
sinous sort  of  sap,  of  which  valuable  gums 
are  made.  But  look,  here,  too,  is  the  Indian 
fig,  or  prickly  pear,  a  vegetable  of  no  com- 
mon interest ;  it  grows  in  the  poorest  soils, 
and,  as  you  see,  upon  the  rocks ;  the  poorer 
the  soil,  the  more  luxuriant  and  succulent  its 
leaves ;  I  should  be  tempted  to  believe  that 


272  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

it  was  nourished  by  the  air  rather  than  by 
the  earth.  It  is  also  called  the  racket-tree, 
from  the  resemblance  of  its  long,  thick,  flat 
leaves  to  that  well-known  instrument.  The 
plant  bears  a  kind  of  fig,  which  is  said  to  be 
sweet  and  palatable  when  ripened  in  its  na- 
tive sun,  and  it  is  a  salutary  and  refreshing 
food.  This,  then,  is  another  plant  of  great 
utility.  I  next  instructed  them  how  to  gather 
this  prickly  fruit  without  injury  to  their  fin- 
gers. I  threw  up  a  stone,  and  brought  down 
a  fig,  which  I  caught  upon  my  hat ;  I  cut  off 
one  end,  and  was  thus  enabled  to  hold  it  on 
a  knife  while  I  peeled  off  the  skin.  I  then 
resigned  it  to  the  curiosity  of  my  young  com- 
panions. 

The  novelty,  rather  than  the  taste,  of  the 
fruit,  made  them  think  it  excellent :  they  all 
found  means  to  gather  some  of  the  figs,  and 
each  was  busied  in  inventing  the  best  method 
of  taking  off  the  skins.  In  the  meantime,  I 
perceived  Ernest  holding  a  fig  upon  the  end 
of  his  knife,  turning  it  about  in  all  directions, 
and  bringing  it  close  to  his  eye  with  a  look 
of  curious  inquiry.  —  "I  wish  I  could  know," 
said  at  length  our  young  observer,  "what 


THE  SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  273 

little  animals  these  are  in  the  fig,  which  feed 
so  eagerly  upon  it,  and  are  of  quite  a  scarlet 
color." 

Father. m — Ha,  ha!  this  too  will  perhaps 
turn  out  a  new  discovery,  and  an  additional 
source  of  usefulness.  Let  me  look  at  your 
fig ;  I  will  wager  that  it  is  the  insect  called 
the  cochineal. 

Jack.  —  The  cochineal !  what  a  droll  name ! 
What  is  the  cochineal,  father. 

Father.  —  It  is  an  insect  of  the  kind  called 
suckers,  or  Jcermes.  He  feeds  upon  the  In- 
dian fig,  which,  no  doubt,  is  the  cause. of  his 
beautiful  color,  so  much  esteemed  in  dyeing ; 
for  nothing  else  produces  so  fine  a  scarlet. 
In  America,  they  stretch  pieces  of  linen  un- 
der the  branches,  and  then  shake  the  tree  ; 
and  when  the  insects  have  fallen  in  great 
numbers,  the  ends  of  the  linen  are  folded 
together  to  enclose  them;  the  insects  are 
sprinkled  with  vinegar  or  cold  water,  and 
sent  to  Europe,  where  a  high  price  is  paid 
for  them.  But  I  have  not  yet  mentioned  a 
still  superior  usefulness,  peculiar  to  the  Indian 
fig-tree  :  —  what  if  I  should  assert  that  it  can 
be  used  as  a  protection  to  man  ? 

19 


274  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

Fritz.  —  As  a  protection  to  man  !  Why, 
how  can  that  be,  father  ? 

Father.  —  It  is  well  adapted  for  enclosing 
the  dwellings  of  man ;  for  you  see,  that  be- 
sides the  prickles,  there  is  a  large  thorn  at 
each  of  the  knots  in  the  stalk,  well  calculated 
for  repelling  the  attacks  of  animals  or  men. 

This,  then,  you  see,  is  a  third  usefulness 
the  Indian  fig-tree  can  boast,  and  of  which  I 
was  not  at  first  aware.  You  must  perceive 
of  what  importance  these  enclosures  are ;  and 
the  rather,  as  they  are  made  with  so  little 
trouble;  for  if  you  plant  only  one  of  its 
leaves  in  the  ground,  it  immediately  takes 
root,  and  grows  with  astonishing  rapidity. 

Jack,  the  thoughtless,  here  cried  out,  that 
with  the  assistance  of  a  knife,  or  even  a  stick, 
it  would  be  easy  to  get  over  such  a  hedge ; 
and  he  began  to  cut  down  with  his  clasp-knife 
a  pretty  large  plant,  striking  to  right  and  left 
with  all  his  might,  till  one  of  the  divided 
leaves  fell  with  such  violence  on  his  leg,  that 
the  thorns  struck  into  the  flesh,  and  Jack 
roared  out  piteously,  and  quickly  sat  down 
to  draw  them  out.  I  could  not,  as  I  assisted 
him,  refrain  from  laughing  a  little  at  his  ad- 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  275 

venture.  I  observed  to  him,  how  difficult  it 
must  be  for  savages,  who  wear  no  clothes,  to 
force  such  a  barrier  as  they  formed ;  and  for 
this  once,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  convincing 
him. 

Ernest.  —  Ah,  father,  do  let  us  make  a 
hedge  of  these  plants  round  our  tree  ;  we 
shall  then  have  no  further  occasion  for  fires 
to  preserve  us  from  wild  beasts,  or  even  from 
the  savages,  who  may  arrive  in  their  canoes, 
as  they  did  on  Robinson  Crusoe's  Island. 

Fritz.  —  And  we  could,  then,  easily  gather 
the  cochineal,  and  try  to  make  the  same 
beautiful  scarlet  color. 

Father.  —  We  shall  have  time  enough  for 
many  things  my  clear  children  ;  but  for  the 
present,  it  is  sufficient  to  prove  to  you,  that 
God  has  not  made  any  thing  to  be  wholly 
useless;  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  man,  on 
whom  he  has  bestowed  the  gifts  of  wisdom 
and  intelligence,  to  employ  those  faculties  in 
discovering  the  utility  of  the  different  pro- 
ductions he  has  allowed  to  exist. 

Jack.  — For  my  part,  I  have  done  with  the 
Indian  fig-tree,  its  fruit,  its  cochineal,  and  its 
ugly  thorns,  and  I  will  never  go  near  it  again. 


276  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

Father.  —  If  the  plant  could  speak,  it 
would  most  likely  say,  That  little  boy  shall 
not  come  near  me  any  more.  Without  any 
reason,  or  any  necessity,  but  purely  out  of 
contradiction  to  his  father,  he  attacks  and 
destroys  me ;  me,  who  would  have  done  him 
service,  if  he  would  but  have  treated  me  with 
kindness,  and  have  been  careful  in  coming 
near  me.  —  And  now,  Jack,  if  your  leg  is 
still  painful,  apply  a  leaf  of  the  karata  to  it, 
for  I  recollect  that  the  plant  possesses  the 
property  of  curing  wounds.  He  accordingly 
took  my  advice,  and  in  a  few  minutes  was 
able  to  join  us  on  our  road  to  Tent-House. 

"ISTow  then,"  said  Ernest,  "I  have  had  an 
opportunity  of  learning  the  valuable  proper- 
ties of  the  karata  tree,  and  of  the  Indian  fig- 
tree  ;  but  I  wish  I  could  also  be  informed 
what  those  tall  plants  are  which  look  like 
sticks  covered  with  thorns,  that  I  perceive 
every  where  about  us  ;  I  see  neither  fruit  nor 
insects  on  them :  of  what  use,  then,  father, 
do  you  think  they  can  be  ?  " 

Father.  —  It  is  not  in  my  power  to  explain 
to  you  the  uses  of  all  the  plants  in  the  world; 
I  presume  that  many  exist  which  have  no 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  277 

other  than  that  of  contributing  to  the  suste- 
nance of  different  kinds  of  animals ;  and,  as 
I  have  already  told  you,  it  is  for  man,  by  his 
superior  intelligence,  to  discover  those  that 
can  be  applied  to  his  own  use.  Many  pos- 
sess medicinal  qualities  of  which  I  am  igno- 
rant, and  which  will  become  better  known  as 
the  world  advances  in  age.  The  plant  you 
speak  of  is  perhaps  the  prickly  candle,  de- 
scribed by  Bruce,  in  his  Travels  to  Abyssinia, 
and  of  which  he  gives  a  drawing ;  the  only 
difference  that  I  perceive  being  the  size. 
"  They  serve,"  says  he,  "for  food  to  the  ele- 
phant and  the  rhinoceros ;  the  first  with  his 
strong  teeth,  or  his  trunk,  and  the  latter  with 
his  horn,  lays  hold  of  this  'seeming  stick,  and 
rips  it  up  from  one  end  to  the  other ;  they 
then  devour  the  pith,  and  sometimes  the 
rind." 

Ernest.  —  The  palate  of  these  animals  must 
surely  be  made  of  iron,  to  be  able  to  chew 
such  a  thorny  substance  without  injury. 

Fritz. — Why  so?  Camels  and  asses  are 
very  fond  of  thistles,  and  appear  to  digest 
them  extremely  well.  It  is  probable,  there- 
fore, that  the  stomach  of  these  animals  is  so 


278  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

formed,  that  these  prickly  substances  occa- 
sion in  it  only  an  agreeable  excitation  favor- 
able to  their  appetite  and  their  digestion. 

Father.  —  Your  idea  is  not  a  bad  one  ;  and 
if  it  be  not  true,  it  is  at  least  probable. 

Fritz.  —  Will  you  tell  me,  father,  the  pre- 
cise difference  between  true  and  probable  f 

Father.  —  Your  question  is  one  of  those 
■which  have  occupied  the  attention  of  philos- 
ophers for  countless  years,  and  would  be  too 
tedious  for  discussion  at  this  moment ;  I  will, 
however,  endeavor  to  make  my  answer  such, 
as  to  be  of  use  to  you,  in  the  science  of  logic, 
or  the  art  of  reasoning.  Let  us  see  if  you 
will  understand  it  —  What  we  call  true,  is 
that  which  cannot'  in  any  way  be  contra- 
dicted, and  which  exactly  agrees,  in  every 
point,  with  the  idea  we  conceive  of  a  certain 
object,  or  as  it  really  exists  before  our  eyes : 
for  example,  when  I  make  an  impression 
with  my  seal  on  some  warm  wax,  it  is  abso- 
lutely true  that  the  figure  impressed  on  the 
wax,  is  the  same  as  that  on  the  seal.  A  thing 
is  probable,  when  we  have  a  variety  of  mo- 
tives for  believing  it  true,  without,  however, 
being  able  to  bring  any  proof.     Again,  we 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  279 

call  false,  that  which  is  in  positive  contradic- 
tion to  all  our  notions,  our  reason,  and  our 
experience.  Is  it,  true,  probable,  or  false, 
that  a  man  can  fly  up  into  the  air  ? 

All.  —  It  is  false,  absolutely  false. 

Father.  —  How  so  ? 

Jack.  —  Because  the  thing  is  impossible. 

Father. — Very  well,  my  young  philoso- 
pher, and  why  is  the  thing  impossible  ? 

Jack.  — Because  it  is  not  possible. 

Father.  —  Ha,  ha,  ha  !  here  is  a  pretty 
round  of  possible  and  impossible.  It  is  false 
because  no  such  tiling  can  be  done,  and  no 
such  thing  can  be  done,  because  it  is  not  pos- 
sible. Presently  you  will  tell  me  that  it  is 
impossible  because  it  is  false.  Try  again, 
my  lads,  we  must  have  some  better  reasons. 
What  say  you,  Ernest  ? 

Frnest.  —  I  say,  that  the  thing  cannot  be 
done,  because  it  is  not  in  the  nature  of  man 
to  fly ;  that  having  no  wings,  he  is  not  formed 
for  flying. 

Father. — -Well,  if  some  one  should  assert, 
that  a  man  is  able  to  make  a  machine,  by  the 
assistance  of  which  he  can  raise  and  support 
himself  in  the  air  without  wings,  and  without 


280  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

the  machine  resting  upon  any  thing ;  would 
this  be  probable  or  improbable  ?  "What  think 
you,  Fritz? 

Fritz.  —  I  think  I  should  have  said  im- 
probable, if  I  had  not  known  that  people 
have  accomplished  what  you  describe,  by  the 
invention  of  balloons. 

Father.  —  And  why  should  you  have 
thought  it  improbable  ? 

Fritz.  —  Because  man  is,  in  his  nature, 
heavier  than  the  air ;  and  I  should  have  sup- 
posed, that  a  machine  of  whatever  kind,  in- 
stead of  diminishing,  would  only  add  to  his 
weight. 

Father.  —  Yery  well  reasoned.  But  you 
would  be  told  that  this  machine  is  of  large 
dimensions,  and  composed  of  a  close,  light 
kind  of  silk,  and  that  it  is  filled  with  air  chem- 
ically prepared,  which  being  much  lighter 
than  atmospheric  air,  tends  perpetually  to 
ascend,  and  supports  the  man  in  the  air, 
as  bladders  support  you  upon  the  water.  Do 
you  understand  all  this,  my  boy  ?  and  what 
have  you  to  say  in  answer  ? 

Fritz.  —  Yes,  father,  I  understand  it ;  and 
I  perceive  how  it  might  be  probable,  that 


THE    SWISS     FAMILY  ROBINSON.  231 

since  man  has  discovered  a  means  to  be  sus- 
tained upon  water,  he  might  also  find  the 
means  to  raise  and  sustain  himself  in  the  air. 

Father.  —  And  when  a  multitude  of  per- 
sons of  veracity,  and  of  different  ages,  shall 
declare  that  with  their  own  eyes  they  saw  a 
balloon,  to  which  a  parachute  was  fastened 
filled  with  men,  and  that  all  mounted  in  the 
air  together,  and  disappeared  above  the 
clouds ;  should  you  still  maintain  that  it  is 
false  that  a  man  can  fly  ? 

All. — No,  to  be  sure,  we  should  say  that 
it  is  quite  true  that  he  can  fly. 

Father. — And  yet  you  all  said,  but  a 
minute  ago,  that  it  was  absolutely  false. 

Fritz.  —  Ah  !  but  we  said  that,  father,  of 
a  man  by  himself,  independently  of  any  ma- 
chine he  might  construct ;  for  though  nature 
has  refused  him  wings,  she  has  not  failed  to 
bestow  on  him  an  inventive  mind,  which  more 
than  compensates  for  that  deficiency. 

Father.  —  Your  observation  is  perfectly 
Just,  and  I  hope  you  will  not  fail  to  profit 
by  it.  With  the  aid  of  his  intelligence,  and 
his  reason,  there  is  scarcely  any  thing  which 
man  cannot  attain  to.     But  to  return  to  our 


282  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

example :  you  will  find  in  it  the  definition  of 
the  words  which  you  ask  me  about:  it  is 
false,  that  a  man  of  himself  can  fly ;  it  is 
probable,  that  by  the  aid  of  a  machine  of  his 
own  invention  he  may  be  enabled  to  mount 
and  sustain  himself  in  the  air ;  and  it  is  also 
absolutely  true,  that  this  has  been  effected  by 
man,  though  without  his  having  yet  found 
a  certain  means  of  guiding  these  factitious 
wings ;  a  defect  which,  in  a  great  measure, 
renders  his  discovery  useless. 

At  this  point  of  our  discourse,  we  reached 
Jackail's  River,  which  we  crossed,  stepping 
with  great  care  from  stone  to  stone,  and 
shortly  arrived  at  our  old  habitation,  where 
we  found  every  thing  as  we  had  left  it ;  and 
each  went  in  pursuit  of  what  he  intended  to 
take  away.  Fritz  loaded  himself  with  pow- 
der and  shot :  I  and  my  wife  and  Francis 
employed  ourselves  in  filling  our  pot  with 
butter,  the  carrying  of  which  on- our  return 
it  was  agreed  was  to  fall  on  me.  Ernest  and 
Jack  looked  about  for  the  geese  and  ducks ; 
but  as  they  were  become  somewhat  savage, 
the  boys  could  not  succeed  in  catching  one 
of  them.     The  idea  then  occurred  to  Ernest, 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  283 

of  taking  a  small  bit  of  cheese,  and  tying  it 
to  the  end  of  a  piece  of  string,  and  holding 
it  to  float  in  the  water.  The  voracious  ani- 
mals hastened  eagerly  to  seize  it.  In  this 
way,  Ernest  drew  them  towards  him,  one  by 
one,  with  the  cheese  in  its  mouth,  till  he  "had 
caught  the  whole :  each  bird  was  then  tied 
in  a  pocket  handkerchief,  leaving  the  head 
at  liberty,  and  fastened  one  to  each  game- 
bag,  so  that  all  had  a  share  in  carrying  them. 

We  had  a  thought  of  taking  back  a  provis- 
ion of  salt ;  but  the  sacks  being  occupied  with 
potatoes,  we  could  only  throw  a  small  quan- 
tity loose  into  one  of  them,  to  lie  between  the 
potatoes ;  in  this  way  we  secured  a  tolerable 
supply. 

We  now  set  out  loaded  on  our  return.  The 
ducks  and  geese,  with  their  heads  and  necks 
stretching  out  at  our  shoulders,  cackling  with 
all  their  might,  gave  us  a  truly  singular  and 
ludicrous  appearance,  and  we  could  not  help 
laughing  immoderately  as  we  passed  the 
bridge,  one  after  another,  accoutred  in  so 
strange  a  fashion.  Our  mutual  jokes,  and 
the  general  good  humor  which  prevailed, 
served  to  shorten  the  length  of  the  walk,  and 


284  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

none  complained  of  fatigue,  till  seated  undex 
our  tree  at  Falcon's  Stream.  My  wife  now 
prepared  to  console  us,  by  putting  some  of 
the  potatoes  which  we  so  eagerly  desired  to 
taste,  immediately  on  the  fire.  She  next 
milked  the  cow  and  the  goat,  and  gave  us  a 
draught  of  their  warm  milk.  The  kind  crea- 
ture, fatigued  at  least  as  much  as  any  of  us, 
made  no  attempt  to  rest  herself,  till  she  had 
provided  us  with  all  she  had  to  give  for  our 
refreshment.  Having  dined  heartily  on  our 
potatoes,  we  concluded  the  day  with  evening- 
prayers,  and  then  joyfully  climbed  our  ladder 
to  seek  the  blessing  of  repose  in  our  aerial 
castle. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Mopes  of  a  Sledge — Some  short  Lessons  in  useful 
Things. 

I  had  observed  along  the  shore  many  pieces 
of  wood,  of  which  I  thought  I  could  make  a 
kind  of  conveyance  for  our  cask  of  butter 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  285 

and  other  provisions  from  Tent-House  to  Fal- 
con's Stream,  and  had  secretly  determined 
to  go  early  the  next  morning,  before  my  fam- 
ily should  be  awake,  to  the  spot.  I  had  fixed 
upon  Ernest  for  my  assistant,  thinking  that 
his  indolent  temper  required  to  be  stimulated 
to  exertion.  I  made  him  feel  as  a  great  fa- 
vor the  preference  I  gave  him,  and  he  prom- 
ised to  be  ready  at  a  very  early  hour.  I  was 
also  desirous  to  leave  Fritz  with  the  family, 
as,  being  the  tallest  and  strongest,  he  was 
more  able  to  afford  protection. 

At  the  first  dawn  of  morning  I  quietly 
awoke  Ernest.  He  got  up,  and  we  descended 
the  ladder  without  being  perceived  by  the 
rest,  who  continued  to  sleep  soundly.  We 
roused  the  ass,  and  I  made  him  draw  some 
large  branches  of  a  tree,  which  I  wanted  for 
my  undertaking. 

We  were  not  long  in  finding  the  pieces  of 
wood,  and  set  to  work  to  cut  them  the  proper 
length,  and  we  then  laid' them  cross-ways  on 
the  branches,  which  we  thus  converted  into 
a  kind  of  vehicle.  We  added  to  the  load  a 
little  chest,  which  we  found  half  buried  in 
the  sands,  quite  close  to  the  waves,  and  then 


286  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

we  set  out  on  our  return  to  Falcon's  Stream. 
When  we  reached  our  abode,  the  chest  we 
had  brought  was  soon  opened  by  a  strong 
hatchet,  for  all  were  eager  to  see  what  was 
within.  It  contained  only  some  sailors'  dresses 
and  some  linen :  and  both  were  wet  with  the 
sea. 

We  then  sat  down  tranquilly  to  breakfast ; 
and  I  next  inspected  the  booty  of  the  young 
sportsmen,  who  had  shot,  in  all,  no  less  than 
fifty  ortolans  and  thrushes,  and  had  used  so 
large  a  quantity  of  powder  and  shot,  that 
when  they  were  about  to  resume  their  sport, 
my  wife  and  I  stopped  them,  recommending 
a  more  frugal  use  of  those  valuable  materials. 
I  taught  them  how  to  make  some  snares,  to 
be  suspended  from  the  branches  of  the  fig- 
tree,  and  advised  them  to  use  the  thread  of 
the  karata,  which  is  as  strong  as  horse-hair, 
for  the  purpose.  What  is  new  always  amuses 
young  persons,  and  the  boys  accordingly  took 
a  great  fancy  to  this  mode  of  sporting.  Jack 
succeeded  in  his  very  first  attempt ;  I  left 
Francis  to  assist  him,  and  took  Fritz  and  Er- 
nest to  help  me  in  making  the  new  carriage. 

As  we  were  hard  at  work,  a  prodigious 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  287 

clatter  was  heard  among  the  fowls ;  the  cock 
crowed  louder  than  the  rest,  and  the  hens 
ran  to  and  fro,  as  if  pursued.  "I  wonder 
what  is  the  matter  with  the  creatures,"  cried 
my  wife,  rising ;  "  every  day  I  hear  the  hens 
clucking  as  if  they  had  been  laying  eggs." 
At  this  moment  Ernest  happened  to  look  at 
the  monkey,  and  remarked  that  he  fixed  his 
piercing  eyes  on  the  hens ;  and  when  he  saw 
my  wife  approaching,  driving  the  hens  before 
her,  he  jumped  quickly  into  a  hollow  place 
under  one  of  the  roots  of  the  tree,  and  hid 
himself.  Ernest  was  at  the  place  as  soon  as 
he,  and  caught  him  with  a  new-laid  egg  in 
his  paw,  which  he  was  going  to  conceal. 
The  monkey  sprang  away  to  another  hole, 
and  Ernest  followed ;  here  also  he  found 
some  eggs,  and  brought  them  in  his  hat  to 
his  mother,  who  received  them  with  great 
pleasure.  The  monkey,  greedy  of  such  food, 
had  seized  the  egg  as  soon  as  the  hens  had 
laid  them.  We  inflicted  no  other  punishment 
upon  him  for  this  little  piece  of  knavery,  than 
that  of  tying  him  up  when  the  hens  were 
about  to  lay.  My  wife  expressed  her  joy  at 
this  new  acquisition,   and  soon  collected  a 


288  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

great  number  of  eggs,  and  we  waited  with 
impatience  for  the  time  when  the  hens  would 
sit,  in  the  hope  of  seeing  their  species  mul- 
tiplied. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Jack  had  got  into  the 
tree,  and  had  suspended  some  of  the  snares 
to  the  branches,  to  catch  the  little  devourers 
of  our  figs ;  he  came  down  again  to  bring  us 
the  acceptable  intelligence,  that  our  pigeons 
had  made  a  sort  of  nest  there  of  some  dry- 
grass,  and  that  it  already  contained  several 
eggs.  I  therefore  forbade  the  boys  from 
firing  any  more  in  the  tree,  for  fear  of  alarm- 
ing or  wounding  these  gentle  creatures.  I 
also  directed  that  the  snares  should  be  fre- 
quently examined,  to  see  that  the  pigeons 
were  not  caught  in  them,  as  they  might  be 
strangled  in  their  efforts  to  get  loose.  My 
sons  had  all  murmured  a  little  at  my  prohi- 
bition of  the  gunpowder;  and  little  Francis 
with  his  innocent  face  came  running  to  tell 
me,  that  he  was  going  to  ask  his  brother  to 
help  him  to  sow  some  gunpowder,  that  they 
might  have  plenty.  We  all  laughed  heartily 
at  the  idea,  and  Professor  Ernest  did  not 
overlook  the  occasion  to  display  his  science. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  289 

During  these  arrangements,  the  boys  and 
I  had  been  busily  employed :  our  work  was 
completed.  Two  bent  pieces  of  wood,  the 
segments  of  a  circle,  which  I  fixed  in  their 
places  by  a  straight  piece  of  wood  placed 
across,  and  firmly  fixed  to  the  bent  pieces  in 
the  middle,  and  at  the  rear,  formed  the  out- 
line of  my  machine.  I  then  fastened  two 
ropes  in  front,  and  here  was  a  sledge  as  per- 
fect as  could  be  desired.  As  I  had  not 
raised  my  eyes  from  my  work,  I  did  not  know 
what  my  wife  and  the  two  youngest  boys 
had  been  about.  On  looking  up,  I  perceived 
that  they  had  been  stripping  off  the  feathers 
from  a  quantity  of  birds  which  the  boys  had 
killed,  and  that  they  afterwards  spitted  them 
on  an  officer's  sword,  which  Fritz  had  fancied 
and  brought  from  the  ship,  and  which  my 
wife  had  turned  into  this  useful  kitchen 
utensil.  I  approved  of  the  idea;  but  I 
blamed  her  profusion,  in  dressing  more  birds 
at  once  than  we  could  eat.  She  reminded 
me,  that  I  had  myself  advised  her  to  half 
roast  the  birds  before  putting  them  into  the 
butter,  to  be  preserved  for  future  use.  She 
was  in  hopes,  she  said,  that  as  I  had  now  a 

20 


290  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

sledge,  I  should  not  fail  of  going  to  Tent- 
House  after  dinner,  to  fetch  the  cask  of  but- 
ter, and  in  the  meanwhile,  she  was  endeavor- 
ing to  be  ready  with  the  birds.  I  had  no 
objection  to  this,  and  determined  on  going  to 
Tent-House  the  same  day,  requesting  my 
wife  to  hasten  the  dinner  for  that  purpose. 
She  replied,  that  this  was  already  her  inten- 
tion, as  she  also  had  a  little  project  in  her 
head,  which  I  should  be  informed  of  at  my 
return.  I,  for  my  part,  had  one  too,  which 
was  to  refresh  myself  after  the  heat  and  fa- 
tigue of  my  laborious  occupations,  by  a  plunge 
into  the  sea.  I  wished  that  Ernest,  who  was 
to  accompany  me,  should  bathe  also ;  while 
Fritz  was  to  remain  at  home  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  family. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

A  Bathing,  a  Fishing,  tlie  jumping  Hare,  and  a 
Masquerade. 

At  the  moment  of  departure,  Eritz  pre- 
sented his  brother  and  myself  with  a  case  of 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  291 

his  own  workmanship,  which  we  stuck  into 
our  belts,  and  which,  in  reality,  were  well 
contrived  for  holding  spoons,  and  knives  and 
forks,  while  room  was  left  in  the  middle  for 
a  little  hatchet.  I  praised  Fritz  for  having 
thus  brought  his  idea  to  perfection,  and  for 
contriving  to  make  two  cases  with  his  skin 
instead  of  one. 

We  had  harnessed  the  ass  and  the  cow  to 
our  sledge ;  we  each  took  a  piece  of  bamboo- 
cane  in  hand,  to  serve  as  a  whip  ;  and  resting 
our  guns  upon  our  shoulders,  began  our  jour- 
ney. Flora  was  to  accompany  us,  and  Turk 
to  remain  behind.  We  bade  adieu  to  our 
companions,  and  put  our  animals  in  motion. 
We  took  the  road  by  the  sea-shore,  where 
the  sands  afforded  better  traveling  for  our 
vehicle,  than  the  thick  wild  grass.  We 
reached  Family  Bridge,  on  Jackall's  River, 
and  arrived  at  Tent-House  without  either 
obstacle  or  adventure,  and  unharnessed  the 
animals  to  let  them  graze,  while  we  set  to 
work  to  load  the  sledge  with  the  cask  of  but- 
ter, the  cask  of  cheese,  a  small  barrel  of 
gunpowder,  different  instruments,  some  ball, 
and  some  shot.     These  exertions  had  so  oc- 


292  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

cupied  our  thoughts,  that  it  was  late  when 
we  first  observed  that  our  animals,  attracted 
by  the  excellent  quality  of  the  grass  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  had  repassed  the 
bridge,  and  wandered  so  far  as  to  be  out  of 
sight.  I  was  in  hopes  they  would  be  easily 
found,  and  directed  Ernest  to  go  with  Flora 
and  bring  them  back,  intending  in  the  mean- 
time to  look  for  a  convenient  place,  on  the 
other  side  of  Tent-House,  to  bathe  in.  In  a 
short  time  I  found  myself  at  the  extremity 
of  Providence  Bay,  which  ended,  as  I  now 
perceived,  in  a  marsh,  producing  some  fine 
bulrushes ;  and  further  on,  a  chain  of  steep 
rocks,  advancing  somewhat  into  the  sea,  and 
forming  a  kind  of  creek,  as  if  expressly  con- 
trived for  bathing.  The  juttings  of  the  rock 
even  seemed  like  little  cabinets,  for  separate 
accommodation.  Enchanted  with  this  dis- 
covery, I  called  out  to  Ernest  to  come  and 
join  me,  and  in  the  meantime  amused  myself 
with  cutting  some  of  the  rushes,  and  imagin- 
ing what  use  I  could  apply  them  to. 

I  desired  him  to  fill  a  small  bag  with  some 
of  the  salt  he  had  formerly  observed  here, 
and  then  to  empty  it  into  the  large  one  for 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON  293 

the  ass  to  carry;  and  to  take  care  to  fill 
equally  on  each  side.  "  During  this  time,  I 
will  take  the  refreshment  of  bathing ;  and 
then  it  will  he  your  turn  to  bathe,  and  mine 
to  take  care  of  the  animals." 

I  returned  to  the  rocks,  and  was  not  disap- 
pointed in  my  expectation  of  an  enjoyment 
the  most  delicious ;  but  I  did  not  stay  long, 
fearing  my  boy  might  be  impatient  for  his 
share  of  so  new  a  pleasure.  When  I  had 
dressed  myself,  I  returned  to  the  place  to  see 
if  his  work  had  advanced :  presently  I  heard 
his  voice  calling  out,  "  Father,  father,  a  fish  ! 
a  fish  of  monstrous  size !  Run  quickly, 
father,  I  can  hardly  hold  him !  he  is  eating 
up  the  string  of  my  line!"  I  ran  to  the 
place  from  which  the  voice  proceeded,  and 
found  Ernest  lying  along  the  ground  on  his 
face,  upon  the  extremity  of  a  point  of  land, 
and  pulling  in  his  line,  to  which  a  large  fish 
was  hanging,  and  struggling  to  get  loose.  I 
ran  hastily  and  snatched  the  rod  out  of  his 
hand,  for  I  feared  the  weight  and  activity  of 
the  fish  might  pull  him  into  the  water.  I 
gave  the  line  length,  to  calm  the  fish,  and 
then  contrived  to  draw  him  gently  along,  into 


294  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

a  shallow,  from  which  he  could  no  longer  es- 
cape, and  thus  he  was  effectually  secured. 
We  examimed  him  thoroughly,  and  he  ap- 
peared to  weigh  not  less  than  fifteen  pounds ; 
so  that  our  capture  was  magnificent,  and 
would  afford  the  greatest  pleasure  to  our  good 
steward  of  provisions  at  Falcon's  Stream. 
"  You  have  now  really  labored,"  said  I  to 
Ernest,  ""not  only  with  your  head,  but  with 
your  whole  body ;  and  I  would  advise  you  to 
wipe  the  perspiration  from  your  face,  and 
keep  a  little  quiet  before  you  venture  into 
the  water.  You  have  procured  us  a  dish  of 
great  excellence,  which  will  last  for  several 
days,  and  have  conducted  yourself  like  a  true 
cavalier,  without  fear  and  without  reproach." 

"  It  was  at  least  fortunate,"  observed  he 
in  a  modest  tone,  "  that  I  thought  of  bring- 
ing my  fishing-rod." 

Father.  —  Certainly  it  was.  But  tell  me 
how  you  came  to  see  this  large  fish,  and  what 
made  you  think  you  could  catch  it  ? 

Ernest.  —  I  used  to  remark  great  quanti- 
ties of  fish  in  the  water,  just  hereabout,  and 
this  made  me  determine  to  bring  my  fishing- 
tackle  with  me.     In  my  way  to  the  salt,  I 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  295 

perceived  a  great  number  of  little  crabs,  upon 
which  fishes  feed,  near  the  water's  brink ;  I 
thought  I  would  try  to  bait  my  hook  with 
one  of  them;  so  I  hastened  my  work,  and 
came  to  this  spot,  where  I  caught  only  a 
dozen  little  fish,  which  are  there  in  my  hand- 
kerchief; but  I  remarked,  that  they  were 
chased  in  the  water  by  fishes  of  larger  size. 
This  gave  me  the  idea  of  baiting  my  hook 
with  one  of  the  small  ones ;  but  the  hook 
was  too  small,  and  my  rod  too  weak.  I  then 
took  one  of  the  finest  of  the  bulrushes  you 
had  just  gathered,  and  put  a  larger  hook  to 
my  line,  and  in  a  short  time  the  large  fish 
you  see  there  seized  upon  the  bait,  and  paid 
his  life  for  his  voracity.  However,  I  must 
confess,  that  if  you  had  not  come  to  my  as- 
sistance, I  must  either  have  let  go  my  line, 
or  have  been  dragged  into  the  water ;  for  the 
fish  was  stronger  than  I. 

We  now  examined  the  smaller  fishes,  which 
were  mostly  trout  and  herrings,  while  I  felt 
certain  that  the  large  one  was  a  salmon.  I 
cut  them  all  open,  and  rubbed  them  in  the 
inside  with  salt,  that  they  might  not  be  in- 
jured by  the  heat.     While  I  was  thus  em- 


296  THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

ployed,  Ernest  went  to  the  rocks  and  bathed, 
and  I  had  time  to  fill  some  more  bags  with 
salt,  before  his  return.  We  then  harnessed 
and  loaded  our  animals,  and  then  resumed 
the  road  to  Falcon's  Stream.   : 

When  we  had  proceeded  about  half  way, 
Flora,  who  was  before  us,  suddenly  sprang 
off,  and  by  her  barking  gave  notice  that  she 
scented  some  game.  We  soon  after  saw  her 
pursuing  an  animal,  which  seemed  endeavor- 
ing to  escape,  and  made  the  most  extraordi- 
nary jumps  imaginable.  The  dog  continuing 
to  follow,  the  creature,  in  trying  to  avoid 
him,  passed  within  gun-shot  of  the  place 
where  I  stood.  I  fired,  but  its  flight  was  so 
rapid,  that  I  did  not  hit.  Ernest,  who  was  at 
a  small  distance  behind,  hearing  the  report 
of  my  gun,  prepared  his  own,  and  fired  it  oiF 
at  the  instant  the  singular  animal  was  pass- 
ing near  him,  seeking  to  hide  itself  among 
the  tall  herbage  just  by :  he  had  fired  so  skil- 
fully, that  the  animal  fell  dead  at  the  same 
instant.  I  ran  with  extreme  curiosity  to  as- 
certain what  kind  of  quadruped  it  might  be. 
It  was  as  large  as  a  sheep,  with  the  tail  re- 
sembling that  of  a  tiger ;  both  its  snout  and 


THE  SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  297 

hair  were  like  those  of  a  mouse,  and  its  teeth 
were  like  a  hare's,  but  much  larger ;  the  fore 
legs  resembled  those  of  the  squirrel,  and  were 
extremely  short ;  but  to  make  up  for  this,  its 
hind  legs  were  as  long  as  a  pair  of  stilts,  and 
of  a  form  strikingly  singular.  YvTe  examined 
the  creature  a  long  time  in  silence ;  I  could 
not  be  sure  that  I  had  ever  seen  an  engrav- 
ing or  description  of  it  in  any  natural  his- 
tory, or  book  of  travels.  Ernest  at  length, 
clapping  his  hands  together,  joyously  ex- 
claimed, "And  have  I  really  killed  this  won- 
derful animal.  "What  will  my  mother  and 
my  brothers  say  ?  How  astonished  they  will 
be !  and  how  fortunate  I  am  in  securing  so 
fine  a  prize  !  What  do  you  think  is  its  name, 
I  would  give  all  the  world  to  know." 

Father.  —  And  so  would  I,  my  boy;  but 
I  am  as  ignorant  as  you.  One  thing,  how- 
ever, is  certain,  that  this  is  your  lucky  day. 
Let  us  again  examine  this  interesting  stran- 

o  o 

ger,  that  we  may  be  certain  to  what  family 
of  quadrupeds  it  belongs  :  this  will  perhaps 
throw  a  light  upon  its  name. 

Ernest.  —  I  think  it  can  hardly  be  named 
a  quadruped;    for  the  little  fore  legs  look 


298  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

much  more   like  hands,  as  is  the  case  with 
monkeys. 

Father.  —  They  are  notwithstanding  legs, 
I  can  assure  you.  Let  us  look  for  its  name 
among  the  animals  who  give  suck  ;  on  this 
point  we  cannot  be  mistaken.  Now  let  us 
examine  its  teeth. 

Ernest.  —  Here  are  the  four  incisory  teeth, 
like  the  squirrel. 

Father.  —  Thus  we  see  that  it  belongs  to 
the  order  of  Nibblers.  Now  let  us  look  for 
some  names  of  animals  of  this  kind. 

Ernest.  —  Besides  squirrels,  I  recollect 
only  mice,  marmots,  hares,  beavers,  porcu- 
pines, and  jumpers. 

Father.  —  Jumpers  !  That  short  word  fur- 
nishes the  necessary  clue ;  the  animal  is  com- 
pletely formed  like  the  gerboa  or  jumping 
hare,  except  that  it  is  twice  the  size  of  those 

of  which  I  have  read  a  description 

"Wait  a  moment  —  an  idea  strikes  me  :  I  will 
wager  that  our  animal  is  one  of  the  large 
jumpers,  called  kangaroo;  it  belongs  prop- 
erly to  the  genus  DidelpMs  or  Philander ; 
because  the  female,  who  never  bears  more 
than  one  young  one,  carries  it  in  a  kind  of 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  299 

purse  placed  between  her  hind  legs.  To  the 
best  of  my  knowledge,  this  animal  has  never 
been  seen  but  on  the  coast  of  New  Holland, 
where  it  was  first  observed  by  the  celebrated 
navigator,  Captain  Cook.  You  may  then  be 
highly  flattered  with  your  adventure  of  kill- 
ing an  animal  at  once  so  rare  and  so  remark- 
able. But  now  let  us  see  how  we  shall  man- 
age to  drag  him  to  the  sledge.  Ernest 
requested  that  I  would  rather  assist  him  to 
carry  it,  as  he  was  afraid  of  spoiling  its  beau- 
tiful mouse-colored  skin  by  dragging  it  on 
the  ground.  I  therefore  tied  the  fore  legs 
of  the  kangaroo  together ;  and,  by  means  of 
two  canes,  wTe  with  considerable  trouble  con- 
trived to  carry  it  to  the  sledge,  upon  which 
it  was  securely  fastened. 

Having  now  nothing  more  to  detain  us,  we 
continued  our  road  towards  Falcon's  Stream, 
conversing  on  the  subject  of  natural  history, 
and  on  the  necessity  of  studying  it  in  our 
youth,  that  we  might  learn  to  class  plants 
and  animals  according  to  their  characteristic 
marks ;  and  we  observed,  that  to  such  a 
knowledge  as  this  it  was  owing  that  we  had 
recognized  the  kangaroo.     Ernest  entreated 


300  THE   SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

me  to  tell  him  all  I  knew  about  the  animal. 
"It  is,"  said  I,  "a  most  singular  kind  of 
creature.  Its  fore  legs,  as  you  see,  have 
scarcely  the  third  part  of  the  length  of  the 
hind  ones,  and  the  most  it  can  do,  is  to  make 
them  serve  the  purpose  of  walking ;  but  the 
hind  legs  enabled  it  to  make  prodigious 
jumps,  the  same  as  in  the  flea  and  the  grass- 
hopper. The  food  of  the  kangaroo  consists 
of  herbs  and  roots,  which  they  dig  up  very 
skilfully  with  their  fore  legs.  They  place 
themselves  upon  their  hind  legs,  which  are 
doubled  under  them,  as  if  on  a  chair,  and  by 
this  means  are  able  to  look  above  even  the 
tall  kinds  of  grass;  they. rest  too  upon  their 
tail,  which  is  exceedingly  strong,  and  is  also 
of  great  use  to  them  in  jumping,  by  assisting 
the  spring  from  the  ground.  It  is  said  that 
the  kangaroo,  if  deprived  of  its  tail,  would 
scarcely  be  able  to  jump  at  all." 

We  at  length  arrived  happily,  though  some- 
what late,  at  Falcon's  Stream,  having  heard 
from  a  great  distance  the  salutations  of  our 
family.  Our  companions  all  ran  to  meet  us  ; 
but  it  was  now,  on  seeing  tlie  ludicrous  style 
of  the  dress  of  the  three  boys,  our  turn  for 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  301 

immoderate  fits  of  laughter :  one  had  on  a 
sailor's  shirt,  which  trained  round  him  like 
the  robe  of  a  spectre ;  another  was  buried  in 
a  pair  of.  pantaloons,  which  were  fastened 
round  his  neck,  and  reached  to  the  ground ; 
and  the  third  had  a  long  waistcoat,  which 
came  down  to  the  instep,  and  gave  him  the 
exact  form  of  a  traveling  portmanteau.  They 
all  tried  to  jump  about,  but  finding  this  im- 
possible, from  the  length  of  their  garments, 
they  next  resolved  to  carry  off  the  whole  with 
an  air,  by  strutting  slowly  to  and  fro,  in  the 
manner  of  a  great  personage  in  a  theatre. 
After  some  hearty  laughing,  I  inquired  of 
my  wife  what  could  be  the  cause  of  this  mas- 
querade, and  whether  she  had  assisted  them 
in  attempting  to  act  a  comedy  for  our  amuse- 
ment. She  disclosed  the  mystery  by  inform- 
ing me,  that  her  three  boys  had  also  been 
bathing,  and  that,  while  thus  engaged,  she 
had  washed  all  their  clothes  ;  but  as  they  had 
not  dried  so  soon  as  she  expected,  her  little 
rioters  had  become  impatient,  and  had  fallen 
on  the  chest  of  sailor's  clothes,  and  each  had 
taken  from  it  what  article  he  had  pleased. 
"I  preferred,"  said  she,  "that  you  should 


302  THE    SWISS   FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

see  them  in  this  odd  sort  of  a  disguise  rather 
than  quite  naked,  like  little  savages ;  "  in 
which  opinion  I  assured  her  that  I  heartily 
joined. 

It  was  now  our  turn  to  give  an  account  of 
our  journey :  as  we  advanced  in  our  narra- 
tive, we  presented,  one  after  another,  casks, 
bulrushes,  salt,  fish,  and  lastly,  with  infinite 
triumph,  our  beautiful  kangaroo.  In  a  trice 
it  was  surrounded,  examined,  and  admired 
by  all,  and  such  a  variety  of  questions  asked, 
that  Ernest  and  I  scarcely  knew  which  to  an- 
swer first.  Fritz  was  the  only  one  who  was 
a  little  silent.  I  saw  plainly  by  his  counte- 
nance what  was  passing  in  his  mind.  He 
was  jealous  of  the  good  fortune  of  his  bro- 
ther Ernest;  but  I  also  saw  that  he  was 
struggling  manfully  against  the  ascendancy 
of  so  mean  a  passion.  In  a  short  time  he 
had  succeeded  so  completely,  that  he  joined 
frankly  and  unaffectedly  in  our  conversation 
and  merriment.  He  came  near  the  kanga- 
roo, and  examined  it ;  then  turning  to  his 
brother,  he  observed  to  him,  in  a  kind  tone, 
that  he  had  had  good  luck,  and  that  be  must 
be  a  good  shot  to  have  killed  the  animal  with 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  303 

so  little  difficulty.  —  "But,  father,"  said  he, 
"  when  you  go  again  to  Tent  House,  or  on 
any  other  excursion,  will  it  not  be  my  turn 
to  accompany  you  ?  For  here  at  Falcon's 
Stream  there  is  nothing  new  to  amuse  us ;  a 
few  thrushes,  and  some  pigeons ;  this  is  all 
we  have  from  day  to  day,  and  I  find  it  very 
tiresome." 

"I  promise  you  cheerfully  what  you  de- 
sire, my  dear  boy,"  said  I,  "  for  you  have 
valiantly  combated  the  jealousy  and  ill-hu- 
mor which  assailed  you  on  witnessing  your 
brother's  success  with  the  kangaroo.  I  there- 
fore engage  that  you  shall  accompany  me  in 
my  very  next  excursion,  which  will  probably 
take  place  at  no  greater  distance  of  time  than 
to-morrow ;  and  it  will  be  another  journey  to 
the  vessel.  But  in  the  meantime,  let  me  ob- 
serve'to  you,  that  the  high  opinion  I  have 
shown  of  your  prudence  and  judgment,  in 
leaving  you  here,  in  charge  'of  your  mother 
and  your  brothers,  ought  to  be  felt  by  you 
as  more  flattering  than  the  applause  you 
would  have  gained  by  killing  a  kangaroo. 
You  have  accomplished  an  important  duty, 
in  keeping  near  them  all  the  time,  and  not 


304  THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

suffering  yourself  to  be  allured  by  such  amuse- 
ments as  presented  themselves  to  your  fancy ; 
and  this  conduct  has  increased  my  affection 
and  respect  for  you.  Praise  is  also  due  to 
Ernest,  for  the  moderation  with  which  he  has 
felt  his  triumph,  in  so  extraordinary  an  oc- 
currence ;  for  he  has  not  even  told  you  of 
my  humiliating  failure  in  attempting  to  shoot 
the  kangaroo.  To  triumph  over  our  passions, 
and  to  have  on  all  occasions  a  perfect  gov- 
ernment of  our  temper,  is  an  acquisition  of 
infinitely  more  value  than  the  showing  a 
certain  skill  in  firing  off  a  gun,  and  happen- 
ing to  kill  an  animal.  In  our  situation,  we 
are  forced  upon  the  cultivation  of  such  arts 
as  these ;  but  though  we  may  practise  them 
as  necessary  for  our  existence,  we  have  no 
reason  to  be  proud  of  them." 

We  concluded  the  day  with  our  ordinary 
occupations  :  I  gave  some  salt  to  each  of  our 
animals,  to  whom  it  was  an  acceptable  treat. 
We  then  skinned  our  kangaroo,  and  put  it 
carefully  aside  till  the  next  day,  when  we  in- 
tended to  cut  it  to  pieces,  and  lay  such  parts 
in  salt  as  we  could  not  immediately  consume. 
We  made  an  excellent  supper  on  our  little 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  305 

fish,  to  which  we  added  some  potatoes ;  nor 
were  our  faithful  companions  Turk  and  Flora 
neglected.  The  labors  of  the  day  had  more 
than  usually  disposed  us  all  to  seek  repose ; 
we  therefore  said  our  prayers  at  an  early 
hour,  mounted  our  ladder,  and  were  soon 
asleep. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

More  Stores  from  the  Wrech. 

I  rose  with  the  first  crowing  of  the  cock, 
descended  the  ladder,  and  set  about  skinning 
the  kangaroo,  taking  care  not  to  deface  its 
beautiful  smooth  coat.  Our  dogs  relished 
their  meal  on  the  entrails  of  the  animal  so 
much,  that  they  intended  themselves  the 
pleasure  of  a  breakfast  on  the  carcass.  Be- 
fore I  could  descend,  they  had  got  off  its 
head,  as  it  hung  by  the  hind  feet,  and,  half 
friends,  half  foes,  they  were  going  to  share 
their  price  when  I  made  my  appearance. 
Recollecting  our  want  of  the  means  of  pro- 
tection against  smilar  depredations,  I  thought 

21 


306  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

it  right  to  give  them  a  slight  correction  for 
their  fault.  My  wife,  awaked  by  the  growl- 
ing they  made  as  they  slunk  away  to  the  hol- 
low of  a  tree,  was  alarmed,  and  came  clown 
the  ladder  to  see  what  was  the  matter ;  and 
now  I  had  to  perform  the  farther  task  of 
appeasing  her  kind  heart  for  what  she  called 
a  cruel  act.  "  Kind-hearted  creature,"  said 
I,  "  well  I  know  how  glad  you  would  be  if 
there  were  not  a  stick  in  the  world  !  But  I 
did  not  beat  Turk  and  Flora  through  anger  or 
revenge,  but  from  prudence  and  precaution : 
they  intended  modestly  only  to  eat  up  our 
kangaroo,  which  you  promised  yourself  such 
pleasure  in  cooking ;  and  unable  as  I  was  to 
acquaint  them  in  the  canine  tongue,  that  it 
was  not  placed  there  for  their  use,  it  was 
proper  to  let  them  know  this  in  such  a  way 
as  to  deter  them  in  future ;  otherwise,  as  they 
are  strongest,  they  would  end  by  devouring 
all  our  stock." 

My  wife  owned  I  was  in  the  right :  but  I 
observed  her  from  a  corner  of  my  eye  hover- 
ing about  the  hollow  tree,  and  patting  the 
dogs  to  console  them.  I  now  set  about  strip- 
ping my  kangaroo,  without  injuring  the  skin; 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  307 

but  I  advanced  so  slowly  in  the  business,  that 
my  family  were  assembled  about  us,  and  call- 
ing out  Famine  !  before  I  had  finished  my 
work.  Having  at  last  completed  it,  I  went 
to  the  river  to  wash  myself  thoroughly,  and 
then  to  the  sailors'  chest  to  change  my  coat, 
that  I  might  appear  with  decency  at  break- 
fast, and  give  my  sons  an  example  of  that 
cleanliness  which-  their  mother  was  so  eager 
to  inculcate.  Breakfast  over,  I  ordered  Fritz 
to  get  ready  for  Tent-House,  where  we 
should  prepare  the  boat,  and  proceed  to 
the  vessel. 

After  taking  an  affectionate  leave  of  my 
wife,  we  began  our  journey.  I  left  Flora 
with  her,  and  entreated  her  not  to  be  uneasy, 
and  to  commit  herself  to  the  care  of  the  kind 
Providence  who  had  till  them  so  graciously 
watched  over  us,  and  who  would  again  bring 
us  back  to  her  safe  and  sound,  enriched  with 
many  things  conducive  to  our  welfare.  But 
to  bring  her  to  reason  on  the  subject  of  these 
trips  to  the  vessel  was  impracticable :  I  left 
her  bathed  in  tears,  and  praying  God  that 
this  might  be  the  last. 

Y\re  took  Ernest  and  Jack  a  little  way  with 


808  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

us,  and  then  I  sent  them  back  with  a  message 
to  their  mother,  which  I  had  not  the  resolu- 
tion to  deliver  myself — that  we  might  be 
forced  to  pass  the  night  on  board  the  vessel, 
and  not  return  till  the  evening  of  the  follow- 
ing day.  It  was  most  essential  to  get  out  of 
it,  if  yet  afloat,  all  that  could  be  saved,  as  a 
moment  might  complete  its  destruction.  I 
instructed  my  sons  how  they  should  soothe 
their  mother ;  I  exhorted  them  to  obey  and 
to  assist  her ;  and  that  their  excursion  might 
not  be  useless,  I  directed  them  to  gather 
some  salt,  and  enjoined  them  to  be  at  Fal- 
con's Stream  before  noon. 

We  got  into  the  boat,  and  gaining  the 
current,  quickly  cleared  Safety  Bay,  and 
reached  the  vessel,  whose  open  side  offered 
us  an  ample  space,  to  get  on  board.  When 
we  had  fastened  our  boat,  our  first  care  was 
to  select  fit  materials  to  construct  a  raft,  as 
suggested  by  my  son  Ernest.  Our  boat  of 
staves  bad  neither  room  nor  solidity  enough 
to  carry  a  considerable  burden ;  we  therefore 
looked  about,  and  found  a  sufficient  number 
of  water-casks  which  appeared  to  me  proper 
for  my  new  enterprise.     We  emptied  them, 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  309 

replaced  the  bungs  carefully,  and  threw  the 
casks  overboard,  after  securing  them  with 
ropes  and  cramps,  so  as  to  keep  them  to- 
gether at  the  vessel's  side :  this  completed, 
we  placed  a  sufficient  number  of  planks  upon 
them  to  form  a  firm  and  commodious  plat- 
form or  deck,  to  which  we  added  a  gunwale 
of  a  foot  in  depth  all  round,  to  secure  the 
lading.  Thus  vve  contrived  a  handsome  raft, 
in  which  we  could  stow  thrice  as  much  as  in 
our  boat.  This  laborious  task  had  taken  up 
the  whole  day ;  we  scarcely  allowed  ourselves 
a  minute  to  eat  some  cold  meat  we  had  pro- 
vided, that  we  might  not  lose  any  time  in 
looking  for  the  provisions  on  board  the  ves- 
sel. In  the  evening,  Fritz  and  I  were  so 
weary,  that  it  would  have  been  impossible  for 
us  to  row  back  to  land ;  so  having  taken  all 
due  precautions  in  case  of  a  storm,  we  lay 
down  in  the  captain's  cabin,  on  a  good  elastic 
mattrass,  which  induced  such  sound  repose, 
that  our  prudent  design  to  watch  in  turn,  for 
fear  of  accident,  was  forgot,  and  we  both 
slept  heavily,  side  by  side,  till  broad  daylight 
opened  our  eyes.  We  rose,  and  actively  set 
to  work  to  load  our  raft. 


310  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

We  began  with  stripping  the  cabin  of  its 
doors  and  windows,  with  their  appendages ; 
next  we  secured  the  carpenter's  and  gunner's 
chests,  containing  all  their  tools  and  imple- 
ments :  those  we  could  remove  with  levers 
and  rollers  were  put  entire  upon  the  raft,  and 
we  took  out  of  the  others  what  rendered 
them  too  heavy.  One  of  the  captain's  chests 
was  filled  with  costly  articles,  which  no  doubt 
he  meant  to  dispose  of  to  the  opulent  plant- 
ers of  Port  Jackson,  or  among  the  savages. 
In  the  collection  were  several  gold  and  silver 
watches,  snuff-boxes  of  all  descriptions,  buc- 
kles, shirt-buttons,  necklaces,  rings  ;  in  short, 
an  abundance  of  all  the  trifles  of  European 
luxury.  But  the  discovery  that  delighted 
me  most,  was  a  chest  containing  some  dozens 
of  young  plants  of  every  species  of  European 
fruits,  which  had  been  carefully  packed  in 
moss  for  transportation.  I  perceived  pear, 
plum,  almond,  peach,  apple,  apricot,  chestnut 
trees,  and  vine  shoots.  I  beheld  with  a  feel- 
ing I  cannot  describe,  those  productions  of 
my  dear  country,  which  once  so  agreeably 
embellished  my  rural  dwelling,  and  which,  I 
might  hope,  would  thrive  in  a  foreign  soil. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  311 

We  discovered  a  number  of  bars  of  iron,  and 
large  pigs  of  lead,  grinding-stones,  cart- 
wheels ready  for  mounting,  a  complete  set  of 
farrier's  instruments,  tongs,  shovels,  plough- 
shares, rolls  of  iron  and  copper  wire,  sacks 
full  of  maize,  pease,  oats,  vetches,  and  even 
a  little  hand-mill.  The  vessel  had  been 
freighted  with  every  thing  likely  to  be  useful 
in  an  infant  colony  so  distant.  We  found  a 
saw-mill,  in  a  separated  state,  but  each  piece 
numbered,  and  so  accurately  fitted,  that  noth- 
ing was  easier  than  to  put  it  together  for  use. 

I  had  now  to  consider  what  of  all  these 
treasures  I  should  take  or  leave.  It  was  im- 
possible to  carry  with  us  in  one  trip  such  a 
quantity  of  goods ;  and  to  leave  them  in  the 
vessel,  was  exposing  ourselves  to  be  wholly 
deprived  of  them. 

We  with  difficulty  and  hard  labor  finished 
our  loading,  having  added  a  large  fishing- 
net,  quite  new,  and  the  vessel's  great  com- 
pass. With  the  net,  Fritz  found  two  har- 
poons and  a  rope-windlass,  such  as  they  use 
in  the  whale-fishery.  He  asked  me  to  let 
him  place  the  harpoons,  tied  to  the  end  of 
the  rope,  over  the  bow  of  our  tub-boat,  and 


312  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

thus  be  in  readiness  in  case  of  seeing  any 
large  fish ;  and  I  indulged  him  in  his  fancy. 
Having  completely  executed  our  under- 
taking, we  stepped  into  the  tub-boat,  and 
with  some  small  difficulty,  which  a  little  re- 
flection and  a  few  experiments  soon  enabled 
us  to  overcome,  we  pushed  out  for  the  cur- 
rent, drawing  our  raft  triumphantly  after  us 
with  a  stout  rope,  which  we  had  been  careful 
to  fasten  securely  at  its  head. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Tortoise  harnessed. 

The  wind  was  favorable,  and  briskly  swell- 
ed our  sail.  The  sea  was  calm,  and  we  ad- 
vanced at  a  considerable  rate.  Fritz  had  for 
some  time  fixed  his  eyes  on  something  of  a 
large  size  which  was  floating  on  the  water, 
and  he  now  desired  me  to  take  the  glass,  and 
see  what  it  could  be.  I  soon  perceived  that 
it  was  a  tortoise,  which  had  fallen  asleep  in 
the  sun  on  the  surface  of  the  water.     No 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  313 

sooner  had  Fritz  learned  this,  than  he  en- 
treated me  to  steer  softly  within  view  of  so 
extraordinary  a  creature.  I  readily  con- 
sented ;  but  as  his  back  was  towards  me,  and 
the  sail  between  us,  I  did  not  observe  his  mo- 
tions, till  a  violent  jerk  of  the  boat,  a  sudden 
turning  of  the  windlass,  and  then  a  second 
jerk,  accompanied  by  a  rapid  motion  of  the 
boat,  gave  me  the  necessary  explanation. 
"For  Heaven's  sake,  what  are  you  about, 
Fritz?"  exclaimed  I,  somewhat  alarmed. 

"I   have   caught   him!  —  I  touched 

him  !  "  cried  Fritz,  without  hearing  one  word 
I  had  been  saying.  —  "  The  tortoise  is  ours  ; 
it  cannot  escape,  father  !  Is  not  this,  then,  a 
valuable  prize,  for  it  will  furnish  dinners  for 
us  all  for  many  weeks  ?  " 

I  soon  perceived  that  the  harpoon  had 
caught  the  animal,  whichj  feeling  itself 
wounded,  thus  agitated  the  vessel  in  its  en- 
deavors to  get  away.  I  quickly  pulled  down 
the  sail,  and  seizing  a  hatchet,  sprung  to  the 
boat's  head  to  cut  the  rope,  and  let  the  har- 
poon and  the  tortoise  go ;  but  Fritz  caught 
hold  of  my  arm,  conjuring  me  to  wait  a  mo- 
ment, and  not  so  hastily  bring  upon  him  the 


314  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

mortification  of  losing,  at  one  stroke,  the 
harpoon,  the  rope,  and  tortoise  :  he  proposed 
watching  himself,  with  the  hatchet  in  his 
hand,  to  cut  the  rope  suddenly,  should  any 
sign  of  danger  appear ;  and  I  yielded  to  his 
entreaties. 

Thus,  then,  drawn  along  by  the  tortoise, 
we  proceeded  with  a  hazardous  rapidity.  I 
soon  observed  that  the  creature  was  making 
for  the  sea ;  I  therefore  again  hoisted  the 
sail :  and  as  the  wind  was  to  the  land,  and 
very  brisk,  the  tortoise  found  resistance  of 
no  avail :  he  accordingly  fell  into  the  track 
of  the  current,  and  drew  us  straight  towards 
our  usual  place  of  landing,  and  by  good  for- 
tune without  striking  upon  any  of  the  rocks. 
We,  however,  did  not  disembark  without  one 
difficult  adventure.  The  state  of  the  tide  was 
such  as  to  throw  us  upon  a  sand  bank :  we 
were  at  this  time  within  a  gunshot  of  the 
shore  ;  the  boat,  though  driven  with  violence, 
remained  upright  in  the  sand.  I  stepped 
into  the  water,  which  did  not  reach  far  above 
my  knees,  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  upon 
our  conductor  his  just  reward  for  the  alarm 
he  had  caused  us,  when  he  suddenly  gave  a 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  315 

plunge,  and  then  disappeared.  Following  the 
rope,  I  presently  saw  the  tortoise  stretched 
at  length  at  the  bottom  of  the  water,  where 
it  was  so  shallow  that  I  soon  found  means  to 
put  an  end  to  his  pain  by  cutting  off  his  head 
with  the  hatchet,  an^he  bled  to  death.  Be- 
ing now  near  Tent-House,  Fritz  gave  a  halloo, 
and  fired  a  gun,  to  apprize  our  relatives  that 
we  were  not  only  arrived,  but  arrived  in  tri- 
umph. This  soon  produced  the  desired  effect : 
the  mother  and  her  three  young  ones  soon  ap- 
'peared,  running  towards  us ;  upon  which  Fritz 
jumped  out  of  the  boat,  placed  the  head  of  our 
sea-prize  on  the  muzzle  of  his  gun,  and  walked 
to  shore,  which  I  reached  at  the  same  mo- 
ment ;  and  all  were  once  more  received  with 
the  kindest  salutations,  and  such  questions 
as  kindness  best  knows  how  to  propose. 

After  some  gentle  reproaches  from  my 
wife,  for  leaving  her  and  the  boys  for  so  long 
a  time,  the  history  of  the  tortoise  was  re- 
lated, and  excited  much  merriment  in  our 
auditors.  The  tender-hearted  mother,  after 
heaving  a  sigh  for  the  hard  fate  of  the  crea- 
ture, began  to  shudder  at  the  thought  of  the 
danger  we  had  been  exposed  to,  and  the  es- 
cape we  had  effected. 


316  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

Our  conversation  ended,  I  requested  my 
wife  to  go  with  two  of  the  younger  hoys  to 
Falcon's  Stream,  and  fetch  the  sledge  and 
the  beasts  of  burden,  that  we  might  see  at 
least  a  part  of  our  booty  from  the  ship  put 
safely  under  shelter  t]ye  same  evening.  A 
tempest,  or  even  the  tide,  might  sweep  away 
the  whole  during  the  night !  We  took  every 
precaution  in  our  power  against  the  latter 
danger,  by  fixing  the  boat  and  the  raft,  now, 
at  the  time  of  its  reflux,  as  securely  as  we 
could  without  an  anchor.  I  rolled  two  pro- 
digious masses  of  lead,  with  the  assistance  of 
levers,  from  the  raft  upon  the  shore,  and  then 
tied  a  rope  to  each,  the  other  ends  of  which 
were  fastened,  one  to  the  raft,  and  the  other 
to  the  boat,  and  thus  satisfied  myself  that 
they  could  not  easily  be  forced  away. 

While  we  were  employed  on  this  scheme, 
the  sledge  arrived,  and  we  placed  the  tortoise 
upon  it,  and  also  some  other  articles  of  light 
weight,  mattrasses,  pieces  of  linen,  &c. ;  for 
I  reckoned  that  the  animal  itself  weighed  at 
least  three  quintals.  The  strength  of  our 
whole  party  was  found  necessary  to  move  it 
from  the  raft  to  the  sledge ;  we  therefore  all 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  317 

set  out  together  to  unload  it  again  at  Fal- 
con's Stream. 

Our  first  concern,  on  reaching  our  abode, 
was  the  tortoise,  which  we  immediately  turned 
on  his  back,  that  we  might  strip  off  the  shell, 
and  make  use  of  soi^  of  the  flesh  while  it 
was  fresh.  Taking  my  hatchet,  I  separated 
the  upper  and  under  shell  all  round,  which 
were  joined  together  by  cartilages.  The  up- 
per shell  of  the  tortoise  is  extremely  convex ; 
the  under,  on  the  contrary,  is  nearly  flat.  I 
cut  away  as  much  of  the  flesh  of  the  animal 
as  was  sufficient  for  a  meal,  and  laid  the  rest 
carefully  on  the  under  shell,  which  served 
as  a  dish,  recommending  my  wife  to  cook 
what  I  had  cut  off,  on  the  other  shell,  with 
no  other  seasoning  than  a  little  salt,  and 
pledged  myself  that  she  would  produce  a  lux- 
urious dish.  "We  will  then,"  sai<i  I,  "rub 
salt  on  what  we  mean  to  keep,  and  distribute 
the  head,  entrails,  and  feet  to  the  dogs ;  for 
all,  you  know,  must  live." 

"Oh  dear  papa,"  cried  Francis,  "do  give 
me  the  shell,  it  will  be  such  a  pretty  play- 
thing!" 

"No,  no,"  bawled  out  another;    and  one 


318  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

and  all  contended  for  the  preference.  I  im- 
posed silence,  declaring  that  the  right  was 
entirely  in  Fritz;  "but,"  continued  I,  "it 
may  be  well  to  ask  what  each  of  you  thought 
of  doing  with  the  shell,  if  he  had  obtained 

it?-  0 

HlmesL  —  I  should  turn  it  into  a  shield  to 
defend  myself  with,  if  the  savages  should 
come  upon  us. 

Father.  —  Ah,  there  is  my  egotist  again  ; 
but  let  us  see  in  what  way  you  would  use  it. 
You  would  fling  it  across  your  shoulders,  no 
doubt,  and  take  to  your  heels  manfully.  I 
have  guessed  right,  my  poor  Ernest,  have  I 
not?  —  And  you,  Jack,  what  have  you  to 
say? 

Jack.  —  I  should  make  a  nice  little  boat 
of  it,  which  would  help  to  amuse  us  all.  I 
was  thinkjng  how  cleverly  we  could  fill  it 
with  potatoes,  or  the  other  things  we  want  to 
take  from  Tent-House  to  Falcon's  Nest ;  it 
would  glide  along  so  nicely  with  the  stream, 
and  we  should  be  saved  all  the  fatigue  we 
now  have  in  carrying  them. 

Father.  —  Your  scheme,  I  grant,  is  not  ill- 
imagined  ;  but  a  small  raft,  or  an  ol(?  chest. 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  319 

would  do  just  as  well  for  your  purpose.  — 
And  now  for  my  little  Francis ;  I-  wonder 
what  pretty  plan  he  had  thought  of? 

Francis.  —  I  thought  I  should  build  a  little 
house,  papa,  and  the  shell  would  make  such 
a  nice  roof  to  it !        5 

Father.  —  Vastly  well,  my  lads,  if  we  had 
only  our  amusement  or  our  ease  to  think  of; 
but  I  want  you  all  to  form  the  habit  of  think- 
ing and  acting  for  the  general  good,  rather 
than  that  of  what  will  most  gratify  or  accom- 
modate his  single  self.  —  Now,  then,  let  me 
ask,  to  what  use  Fritz,  the  only  rightful 
claimant  to  the  shell,  had  intended  to  apply 
it? 

Fritz.  —  I  thought,  father,  of  cleaning  it 
thoroughly,  and  fixing  it  by  the  side  of  our 
river,  and  keeping  it  always  full  of  pure  wa- 
ter for  my  mother's  use,  when  she  has  to  wash 
the  linen,  or  cook  our  victuals. 

Father.  —  Excellent,  excellent,  my  boy  ! 
all  honor  to  the  founder  of  the  pure  water- 
tub  !  This  is  what  I  call  thinking  for  the 
general  good.  And  we  will  take  care  to  ex- 
ecute the  idea  as  soon  as  we  can  prepare 
some  clay,  as  a  solid  foundation  for  its  bottom. 


320  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

Jack.  —  Hah,  hah !  Now  then  it  is  my 
turn ;  for  I  have  got  some  clay,  which  I  have 
put  by  to  keep  for  use,  behind  those  old  roots 
yonder. 

Father.  — And  where  did  you  get  it,  boy  ? 

Mother.  —  Oh,  you  saay  apply  to  me  for 
this  part  of  the  information ;  to  my  cost  I 
know  where  the  clay  was  got.  This  morning 
early  my  young  hero  falls  to  digging  and 
scrambling  on  the  hill  you  see  to  the  right, 
and  home  he  comes  with  the  news,  that  he  has 
found  a  bed  of  clay ;  but  in  so  dirty  a  condi- 
tion himself,  that  we  were  obliged  to  think 
next  of  the  washing-tub. 

Jack.  — And  if  I  had  minded  a  little  dirt, 
mother,  I  should  not  have  discovered  this  bed 
of  clay,  which  you  will  see  will  be  of  great 
use  to  us.  As  I  was  returning  from  looking 
for  potatoes,  I  thought  I  would  take  the  high 
path  along  the  river,  just  to  see  how  rapidly 
it  runs  and  forms  those  nice  cascades :  by 
and  by  I  came  to  a  large  slope,  watered  by 
the  river ;  it  was  so  slippery,  that  I  could 
not  keep  upon  my  legs ;  so  I  fell,  and  dirtied 
myself  all  over ;  on  looking,  I  saw  that  the 
ground  was  all  of  clay,  and  almost  liquid,  so 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  321 

I  made  some  of  it  into  balls,  and  brought 
them  home. 

Ernest.  —  When  the  water-tub  is  complete, 
I  will  put  some  roots  I  have  found  to  soak  a 
little  in  it,  for  they  are  now  extremely  dry. 
I  do  not  exactly  know  what  they  are ;  they 
look  something  like  the  radish,  or  horse-rad-. 
ish :  but  the  plant  from  which  I  took  them 
was  almost  the  size  of  a  bush :  beino;  igno- 
rant,  however,  of  its  name  or  nature,  I  have 
not  yet  ventured  to  taste  the  roots,  though  I 
saw  our  sow  eat  heartily  of  them. 

Father.  —  If  my  suspicion  is  right,  you 
have  made  a  beneficial  discovery,  which,  with 
the  assistance  of  our  potatoes,  may  furnish 
us  the  means  of  existence  as  long  as  we  may 
remain  in  this  island  !  I  think  your  roots  are 
manioc,  of  which  the  natives  of  the  West  In- 
dies make  a  sort  of  bread  or  cake  which  they 
call  cassave.  But  we  must  first  carry  the 
production  through  a  certain  preparation, 
without  which  it  possesses  pernicious  proper- 
ties. Try  to  find  the  same  place,  and  bring 
a  sufficient  quantity  for  our  first  experiment. 

We  had  finished  unloading  the  sledge,  and 
I  bade  the  three  eldest  boys  accompany  me 

22 


322  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

to  fetch  another  load  before  it  should  be  dark, 
"We  left  Francis  and  his  mother  busy  in  pre- 
paring a  refreshing  meal  for  supper,  the  tor- 
toise having  presented  itself  most  opportunely 
for  this  purpose. 

Having  reached  the  raft,  we  took  from  it 
as  many  effects  as  the  sledge  could  hold,  or 
the  animals  draw  along.  One  object  of  my 
attention  was  to  secure  two  chests  which  con- 
tained the  clothes  of  my  family,  which  I  well 
knew  would  afford  the  highest  gratification  to 
my  wife,  who  had  frequently  lamented  that 
they  were  all  compelled  to  wear  clothes  that 
were  not  their  own ;  reminding  her  at  every 
moment,  she  said,  how  much  they  might  be 
wanted  by  their  proper  claimants.  I  reck- 
oned also  on  finding  in  one  of  the  chests  some 
books  on  interesting  subjects,  and  principally 
a  large  handsomely  printed  Bible.  I  added 
to  these,  four  cart-wheels  and  a  hand-mill  for 
grinding ;  which,  now  that  we  had  discovered 
the  manioc,  I  considered  of  signal  importance. 
These  and  a  few  other  articles  completed  our 
present  load. 

On  our  return  to  Falcon's  Nest,  we  found 
my  wife  looking  anxiously  for  our  arrival, 


I 

THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  323 

and  ready  with  the  welcome  she  had  prom- 
ised, of  an  ample  and  agreeable  repast.     Be- 
fore she  had  well  examined  our  new  stores, 
she  drev/  me,  with  one  of  her  sweetest  "smiles, 
by  the   arm,  — "  Step  this  way,"   said  she, 
and  leading  to  the  shade  of  a  tree,  —  "  this 
is  the  work  I  performed  in  your  absence," 
pointing  to  a  large   cask  half  sunk   in  the 
ground,    and   the    rest    covered    over   with 
branches  of  trees.     She  then  applied  a  small 
cork-screw  to  the  side,  and  filling  the  shell 
of  a  cocoa-nut  with  the  contents,  presented 
it  to  me.  I  found  the  liquor  equal  to  the 
canary  I  had  ever  tasted.  —  "How  then," 
said  I,  "have  you  performed  this  new  mira- 
cle ?     I   cannot  believe   the   enchanted    bag 
produced  it."  —  "Not  exactly,"  replied  she ; 
"  for  this  time  it  was  an  obliging  white  wave 
which  threw  it  on  shore.     I  took  a  little  ram- 
ble in  your  absence  yesterday,  to  see  what  I 
could  find,  and  well  my  trouble  was  rewarded  ! 
The  boys  ran  for  the  sledge,  and  had  but  lit- 
tle difficulty  in  getting  the  cask  to  Falcon's 
Stream,  where  we  dug  this  place  in  the  earth 
to  keep  it  c^ol." 

My  wife  now  proposed  that  all  should  be 


324  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

regaled  with  some  of  the  delicious  beverage. 
My  own  share  so  invigorated  me,  that  I  found 
myself  able  to  complete  my  clay's  work,  by 
drawing  up  the  mattrasses  we  had  brought 
from  the  ship,  to  our  chamber  in  the  tree,  by 
means  of  a  pulley.  When  I  had  laid  them 
along  to  advantage,  they  looked  so  inviting, 
that  I  could  scarcely  resist  my  desire  of  at 
once  committing  myself  to  the  kind  relief  they 
seemed  to  offer  to  my  exhausted  strength. 

But  now  the  savory  smell  of  the  tortoise 
laid  claim  to  my  attention.  I  hastened  down, 
and  wTe  all  partook  heartily  of  the  luxurious 
treat.  We  returned  thanks  to  God,  and 
speedily  retired  to  taste  the  blessing  of  sound 
repose  upon  the  said  mattrasses. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Another  Trip  to  the  Wreck.  ' 

I  rose  before  day  to  go  to  the  sea-side  and 
inspect  our  two  vessels.  I  gently  descended 
the    ladder    without    awaking    my    family. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  325 

Above,    the   scene   vras    all   repose;    below, 
every  thing  was  in  life   and  motion.     The 
dogs  jumped  about  me,   the    cock   and  .the 
hens  flapped  their  wings  and  chuckled,  and 
our  goats  shook  their  long  beards  as  they 
browsed.      I   quickly  roused  and   harnessed 
the  ass,  and  the  dogs  followed  without  bid- 
ding.    As  I  approached  the  shore,  animated 
at  different  moments  by  hope  and  fear,  I  soon 
saw  that  the  boat  and  raft  had  resisted  the 
tide,  though  it  had  partially  heaved  them  up. 
I  got  quickly  on  the  raft,  took  a  small  load- 
ing, and  returned  to  Falcon's  Stream  in  time 
for  breakfast ;  but  not  a  single  creature  of 
its  inhabitants  appeared,  though  the  sun  was 
high  above  the  horizon.  —  I  gave  a  shout  as 
loud  as  a  war-whoop,  which  awoke  my  wife. 
"  Really,  my  dear,"  said  she,   "  there  must 
be  a  magic  charm  in  the  mattrass  you  brought 
yesterday,  that  has  lulled  us  into  so  sound  a 
sleep."  —  "  Up,  my  lads,"  exclaimed  I,  once 
again  ;   "  the  more  we  venture  to  parley  with 
sloth,  the  longer  she  holds  us  in  her  chains ; 
brave  youths  like  you  ought  to  awake  at  the 
first  call,  and  leap  quick  and  gaily  out  of 
bed.      Fritz,  a  little  ashamed,  was  dressed 


d2b  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

first ;  Jack  soon  after  him,  and  Francis  next ; 
the  ever  slothful  Ernest  was  the  last.  —  "It 
is  so  delightful,"  cried  he,  "  to  lose  oneself 
again  after  having  been  awakened !  one  feels 
sleep  come  on  afresh  so  gently."  —  "But  it 
is  my  duty  to  tell  you,  Ernest,  and  that 
gravely,  that  he  who  indulges  himself  in  all 
that  flatters  his  senses,  will  end  by  falling  a 
victim  to  them." 

After  this  short  admonition,  we  all  came 
clown ;  and  breakfast  over,  we  returned  to 
the  sea-side  to  complete  the  unloading  of  the 
raft,  that  it  might  be  ready  for  sea  on  the 
ebbing  of  the  tide.  We  were  not  long  in 
taking  two  cargoes  to  Falcon's  Stream.  At 
our  last  trip  the  water  was  nearly  up  to  our 
craft.  I  sent  back  my  wife  aud  the  boys, 
and  remained  with  Fritz  till  we  were  quite 
afloat ;  when  observing  Jack  still  loitering 
near,  I  guessed  at  his  wish,  and  consented  .to 
his  embarking  with  us.  Shortly  after,  the 
tide  was  high  enough  for  us  to  row  off.  In- 
stead of  steering  for  Safety  Bay,  to  moor 
our  vessels  there  securely,  I  was  tempted  by 
a  fresh  sea-breeze  to  go  out  again  to  the 
wreck;    but  it  was   too   late   to   undertake 


THE  SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  327 

much,  and  I  was  unwilling  to  cause  my  dear 
partner  uneasiness  by  passing  another  night 
on  board.  I  therefore  determined  to  bring 
away  only  what  could  be  obtained  with  ease 
and  speed :  we  searched  hastily  through  the 
ship  for  any  trifling  articles  that  might  be 
readily  removed.  Jack  was  up  and  down 
every  where,  at  a  loss  what  to  select ;  and 
when  I  saw  him  again,  he  drew  a  wheelbarrow 
after  him,  shouting  that  he  had  found  a  vehi- 
cle for  carrying  our  potatoes. 

But  Fritz  next  disclosed  still  better  news, 
which  was,  that  he  had  discovered  behind  the 
bulk-head  amid  ship,  a  pinnace  (i.  e.  a  small 
craft,  the  forepart  of  which  is  square)  taken 
to  pieces,  "with  all  its  appurtenances,  and 
even  two  small  guns  for  its  defense.  This 
intelligence  so  delighted  me,  that  I  quitted 
every  thing  else  to  run  to  the  bulkhead,  when 
I  was  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  lad's  as- 
sertion :  but  I  instantly  perceived,  that  to 
put  it  together  and  launch  it,  would  be  an 
Herculean  task.  I  collected  various  utensils, 
a  copper  boiler,  some  plates  of  iron,  tobacco- 
graters,  two  grinding-stones,  a  small  barrel 
of   gunpowder,   and   another   full   of   flints, 


328  THE   SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

"which  I  much  valued.  Jack's  barrow  was 
not  forgotten ;  two  more  were  afterwards 
found  and  added,  with  straps  belonging  to 
them.  All  these  articles  were  hurried  into 
the  boat,  and  we  re-embarked  with  speed,  to 
avoid  the  land  wind  that  rises  in  the  evening. 
As  we  were  drawing  near  to  shore,  we  were 
struck  with  the  appearance  of  an  assemblage 
of  small  figures  ranged  in  a  long  line  on  the 
strand,  that  seemed  to  be  viewing  us  attent- 
ively :  they  were  dressed  in  black,  and  all  uni- 
form, with  white  waistcoats  and  full  cravats : 
the  arms  of  these  beings  hung  down  care- 
lessly ;  now  and  then,  however,  they  seemed 
to  extend  them  tenderly,  as  if  they  wished  to 
embrace  or  offer  us  a  token  of  friendship. 

"I  really  think,"  said  I  to  the  boys,  who 
were  steadfastly  gazing  at  them,  u  that  we  are 
in  the  country  of  the  pygmies,  and  that  they 
wish  to  form  a  friendly  alliance  with  us." 

Jack.  —  Oh,  no  !  father,  they  are  certainly 
Lilliputians,  though  somewhat  bigger  than 
those  of  whom  I  read  the  description  in  Gul- 
liver's Travels. 

"You  then,  child,"  said  I,  "  consider  those 
travels  as  true ;  that  there  is  an  island  of 
Lilliput,  and  inhabited  by  dwarfs. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  329 

Jack.  —  Gulliver  says  so.  He  met  also 
with  men  of  an  immense  stature,  besides  an 
island  inhabited  by  horses 

"  And  yet  I  must  tell  you  that  the  only 
reality  in  all  his  discoveries  is  the  rich  imag- 
ination of  the  author,  whose  taste  and  feel- 
ing led  him  to  resort  to  allegory  for  the  pur- 
pose of  revealing  grand  truths.  Do  you 
know,  Jack,  what  an  allegory  is  ?  " 

"  It  somewhat  resembles  a  parable,  I  pre- 
sume." 

"Right,  one  is  very  similar  to  the  other." 

Jack.  —  And  the  pygmies  you  mentioned, 
are  any  to  be  found  ? 

"No  more  than  there  are  Lilliputians': 
they  exist  only  in  poetical  fiction,  or  in  the 
erroneous  account  of  some  ancient  naviga- 
tors, in  which  a  group  of  monkeys  has  been 
fallaciously  described  as  diminutive  men." 

Fritz.  —  Such  probably  are  the  manikins 
that  we  see  now  stretching  out  their  arms 
towards  us. — Ah,  now  I  begin  to  perceive 
that  they  have  beaks,  and  that  their  arms 
are  short  drooping  wings  :  —  what  strange 
birds ! 

"  You  are  right,  son,  they  are  penguins  or 


330  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

ruffs.  Ernest  killed  one  soon  after  our  ar- 
rival. They  are  excellent  swimmers,  but 
cannot  fly ;  and  so  confused  are  they  when 
on  land,  that  they  run  in  the  silliest  way 
into  danger." 

While  we  were  talking,  I  steered  gently  to- 
wards shore,  to  enjoy  the  uncommon  sight 
the  longer ;  but  the  very  moment  we;  got  into 
shallow  water,  my  giddy  Jack  leaned  up  to 
his  waist  into  it,  and  was  quickly  ifon  land, 
battering  with  his  stick  among  the  penguins 
before  they  were  aware  of  his  approach,  so 
that  half  a  dozen  of  them  were  immediately 
laid  flat ;  the  remainder,  seeing  they  were  so 
roughly  accosted,  plunged  into  the  sea,  dived, 
and  disappeared. 

As  the  sun  declined,  and  we  despaired  of 
finishing  before  night  set  in,  each  of  us  filled 
a  barrow,  in  order  to  take  home  something. 
I  requested  that  the  tobacco-graters  and  iron 
plates  might  be  in  the  first  load. 

Arrived  at  Falcon's  Stream,  my  wife  ex- 
hibited a  goo'd  store  of  potatoes  which  she 
had  got  in  during  our  absence,  and  a  quan- 
tity of  the  roots  I  had  taken  for  manioc,  and 
in  which  I  was  not  mistaken ;    I  much  ap- 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  331 

plauded  her  diligence  and  foresight,  and  gave 
Ernest  and  little  Francis  their  share  of  ap- 
probation. 

"But  now,"  said  I,  "for  some  supper  and 
repose ;  and  if  my  little  workman  should  he 
industriously  inclined  to-morrow,  I  shall  re- 
ward them  with  the  novelty  of  a  new  trade 
to  be  learned."  This  did  not  fail  to  excite 
the  curiosity  of  all ;  but  I  kept  my  word,  and 
made  them  wait  till  the  following  day  for  the 
explanation  I  had  to  give. 

I  waked  the  boys  very  early,  reminding 
them  that  I  had  promised  to  teach  them  a 
new  trade.  "What  is  it?  What  is  it?"  ex- 
claimed they  all  at  once,  springing  suddenly 
out  of  bed  and  hurrying  on  their  clothes. 

Father.  —  It  is  the  art  of  the  baker,  my 
*boys.  Hand  me  those  iron  plates  that  we 
brought  yesterday  from  the  vessel,  and  the 
tobacco-graters  also,  and  we  will  make  our 
experiment.  Ernest,  bring  hither  the  roots 
found  under  ground:  but  first,  my  dear,  I 
must  request  you  to  make  me  a  small  bag  of 
a  piece  of  strong  wrapper  cloth. 

My  wife  set  instantly  to  work  to  oblige 
me ;  but  having  no  great  confidence  in  my 


382  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

talents  for  making  either  bread  or  cakes,  slie 
first  filled  a  copper  boiler  with  potatoes,  and 
put  it  on  the  fire,  that  we  might  not  be  with- 
out something  to  eat  at  dinner  time :  in  the 
meanwhile  I  spread  a  piece  of  coarse  linen 
on  the  ground,  and  assembled  my  young  ones 
round  me ;  I  gave  each  of  the  boys  a  grater, 
and  showed  him  at  the  same  time  how  to  rest 
it  on  the  linen,  and  then  to  grate  the  roots 
of  manioc ;  in  a  short  time  each  had  pro- 
duced a  considerable  heap  of  a  substance 
somewhat  resembling  pollard.  »  The  occupa- 
tion, as  is  always  the  case  with  novelties,  was 
amusing  to  them  all,  and  they  looked  no  fur- 
ther into  the  matter  :  one  showed  the  other 
his  heap,  saying  in  a  bantering  tone  :  "  Will 
you  eat  a  bit  of  nice  cake  made  of  grated  rad- 
ishes ?  " 

I  now  informed  them  that  the  manioc  was 
known  to  be  the  principal  sustenance  of  whole 
nations  of  the  Continent  of  America,  and 
which  the  Europeans  who  inhabit  those  coun- 
tries prefer  to  even  our  wheaten  bread.  I 
added  "there  are  many  kinds  of  manioc: 
one  of  these  shoots  rapidly,  and  its  roots  ma- 
ture in  a  short  time  ;  a  second  sort  is  of  more 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  333 

tardy  growth  ;  and  there  is  another,  the  roots 
of  which  require  the  space  of  two  years  to  be 
fit  for  use.  The  first  two  kinds  have  perni- 
cious or  unwholesome  qualities  when  eaten 
raw,  hut  the  third  may  be  eaten  without  fear: 
for  all  this,  the  two  first  are  generally  pre- 
ferred, as  being  more  productive,  and  requir- 
ing a  shorter  time  for  being  fit  for  use." 

By  this  time  my  wife  had  completed  thev 
bag.  I  had  it  well  filled  with  what  we  called 
our  pollard,  and  she  closed  it  securely  by 
sewing  up  the  end.  I  was  now  to  contrive 
a  kind  of  press :  I  cut  a  long,  straight; 
stout  branch,  from  a  neighboring  tree,  and 
stripped  it  of  the  bark ;  I  then  placed  a  plank 
across  the  table  we  had  fixed  between  the 
arched  roots  of  our  tree,  and  which  was  ex- 
actly the  right  height  for  my  purpose,  and  on 
this  I  laid  the  bag ;  I  put  other  planks  again 
upon  the  bag,  and  then  covered  all  with  the 
large  branch,  the  thickest  extremity  of  which 
I  inserted  under  an  arch,  while  to  the  other, 
which  projected  beyond  the  planks,  I  sus- 
pended all  sorts  of  heavy  substances,  such  as 
lead,  our  largest  hammers  and  bars  of  iron, 
which,  acting  with  great  force  as  a  press  on 


6.64:  THE    SYvTISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

the  Lag  of  manioc,  caused  the  sap  it  con- 
tained to  issue  in  streams,  which  flowed  plen- 
tifully on  the  ground. 

Fritz. — This  machine  of  yours,  father, 
though  simple,  is  as  effectual  as  can  be  de- 
sired. 

Father.  —  Certainly.  It  is  the  simplest 
lever  that  the  art  of  mechanism  can  furnish, 
and  may  be  made  extremely  useful. 

Ernest. — I  thought  that  levers  were  never 
used  but  for  raising  heavy  masses,  such  as 
blocks  of  stone,  and  things  of  that  degree 
of  weight ;  I  had  no  notion  that  they  were 
ever  used  for  pressing. 

Father. — But  you  see  that  the  point  at 
which  the  lever  rests  on  the  planks  must 
always  be  the  point  of  rest  or  compression ; 
the  point  at  which  its  extremity  touches  the 
roots  of  the  tree  would  no  doubt  be  that  of 
the  raising  power,  if  the  root  was  not  too 
strong  to  yield  to  the  point  of  the  lever ;  but 
then  the  resistance  at  the  point  of  compres- 
sion or  rest  is  still  stronger,  and  presses  ef- 
fectually, as  you  see,  the  contents  of  the  bag. 
The  Negroes,  however,  have  another  manner 
of  proceeding  ;  but  it  would  have  been  much 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBIN  SOX.  66  D 

too  tedious  in  the  process  for  us  to  imitate. 
They  make  tresses  of  the  bark  of  a  tree,  and 
with  it  form  a  kind  of  basket  of  tolerable 
size ;  they  fill  it  with  manioc,  and  press  it  so 
tightly,  that  the  baskets  become  shorter,  and 
increase  in  breadth ;  they  then  hang  the 
baskets  to  the  strongest  branches  of  trees, 
and  fasten  large  stones  to  them,  which  draw 
the  baskets  again  lengthways ;  by  which  ac- 
tion upon  the  manioc  the  sap  runs  out  at  the 
openings  left  by  the  tresses. 

Mother. — Can  one  make  no  use  of  this  sap  ? 

Father.  —  Certainly,  we  may  :  the  same 
Negroes  use  it  as  food,  after  mixing  with  it 
some  pepper ;  and  when  they  can  procure 
them,  some  sea-crabs. 

Fritz.  — Father,  it  no  longer  runs  a  single 
drop ;  may  we  not  now  set  about  making  the 
dough  ? 

Father.  —  I  have  no  objection ;  but  as 
there  are  some  poisonous  kinds  of  manioc,  it 
will  be  prudent  to  make  only  a  small  cake  at 
first,  by  way  of  experiment,  which  we  will 
give  to  the  monkey  and  the  fowls,  and  wait 
to  see  the  effect,  instead  of  exhausting  our 
whole  store  at  once. 


do 6  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

Vvre  now  opened  the  bag,  and  took  out  a 
small  quantity  of  the  pollard,  which  already 
was  dry  enough;  we  stirred  the  rest  about 
with  a  stick,  and  then  replaced  it  under  the 
press.  The  next  thing  was  to  fix  one  of  our 
iron  plates,  which  was  of  a  round  form,  and 
a  little  hollow,  so  as  to  rest  upon  two  blocks 
of  stone  at  a  distance  from  each  other ;  un- 
der this  we  lighted  a  large  fire,  and  when  the 
iron  plate  was  completely  heated,  we  placed 
a  portion  of  the  dough  upon  it  with  a  wooden 
spade.  As  soon  as  the  cake  began  to  be 
brown  underneath,  it  was  turned,  that  the 
other  side  might  be  baked  also. 

Ernest.  —  0  how  nicely  it  smells  !  what  a 
pity  that  we  may  not  eat  some  of  it  immedi- 
ately ! 

Father. — I  believe  you  might  safely  ven- 
ture, but  it  is  perhaps  better  to  wait  till  the 
evening,  and  run  no  greater  risk  than  the  loss 
of  one  or  two  of  our  fowls  or  of  the  monkey ; 
and  we  may  say  this  trial  of  the  cake  will  be 
the  first  service  he  has  rendered  us. 

As  soon  as  the  cake  was  cold,  we  broke 
some  of  it  into  crums,  and  gave  it  to  two  of 
the  fowls,  and  a  larger  piece  to  the  monkey, 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  337 

who  nibbled  it  with  a  perfect  relish,  making 
all  the  time  a  thousand  grimaces,  while  the 
boys  stood  by  envying  the  preference  he  en- 
joyed. 

Fritz.  —  Now  tell  me,  father,  how  the  sav- 
ages manage  to  grate  their  manioc,  for  surely 
they  have  not,  like  us,  an  instrument  fitted 
for  the  operation ;  —  and  tell  me  also,  if  they 
call  their  composition  by  the  name  of  cake  or 
bread,  as  we  clo  ? 

Father.  —  The  savages  having  no  such  ar- 
ticle as  bread  in  their  bill  of  fare,  have  con- 
sequently no  word  in  their  language  to  ex- 
press it,  At  the  Antilles,  the  bread  from  the 
manioc  is  called  cassave  ;  the  savages  make 
a  kind  of  grater  with  sharp  stones,  or  shells ; 
or  when  they  can  get  nails,  on  'which  they 
set  a  high  value,  they  drive  them  into  the 
end  of  a  plank,  and  rub  the  manioc  upon  it. 
But  now,  I  pray  you,  good  wife,  give  us 
quickly  our  potato  dinner,  and  we  will  after- 
wards resume  the  baking  trade. 

The  first  thing  after  dinner  was  to  visit  our 

fowls.     Those  "which  had  eaten  the  manioc 

were  in  excellent  condition,  and  no  less  so  the 

monkey.  —  "Now   then   to    the    bakehouse, 

23 


338  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

young  ones,"  said  I,  "  as  fast  as  you  can 
scamper."  —  The  grated  manioc  was  soon 
emptied  out  of  the  hag,  a  large  fire  was 
quickly  lighted,  and  I  placed  the  hoys  where 
a  fiat  surface  had  heen  prepared  for  them, 
and  gave  to  each  a  plate  of  iron  and  the 
quantity  of  a  cocoa-nut  full  to  make  a  cake 
a  piece,  and  they  were  to  try  who  could  suc- 
ceed the  best.  They  were  ranged  in  a  half 
circle  round  me,  that  they  might  observe  how 
I  proceeded,  and  adopt  the  same  method  for 
themselves.  The  result  was  not  discouraging 
for  a  first  experiment,  though  it  must  be  con- 
fessed we  were  now  and  then  so  unlucky  as 
to  burn  a  cake ;  but  there  was  not  a  greater 
number  of  these  than  served  to  feed  the  pig- 
eons and  the  fowls,  which  hovered  about  us 
to  claim  their  share  of  the  treat.  My  little 
rogues  could  not  resist  the  pleasure  of  fre- 
quently tasting  their  cake,  a  little  bit  at  a 
time,  as  they  went  on.  At  length  the  under- 
taking was  complete ;  the  cakes  were  put  in 
a  dish,  and  served,  in  company  with  a  hand- 
some share  of  milk,  to  each  person ;  and  with 
this  addition  they  furnished  us  with  an  excel- 
lent repast ;  what  remained  we  distributed 
among  our  animals  and  fowls. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  339 

The  rest  of  the  clay  was  employed  by  the 
hoys  in  making  several  turns  with  their 
wheelbarrows,  and  by  myself  in  different  ar- 
rangements in  which  the  ass  and  our  raft  had 
a  principal  share,  both  being  employed  in 
drawing  to  Tent-House  the  remaining  articles 
we  had  brought  from  the  ship.  When  all 
this  was  done  we  retired  to  rest,  having  first 
made  another  meal  on  our  cakes,  and  con- 
cluded all  with  pious  thanks  to  God  for  the 
blessings  his  goodness  thought  fit  to  bestow 
upon  us. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

The  Grachev  and  the  Pinnace. 

From  the  time  of  discovering  the  pinnace, 
my  desire  of  returning  to  the  vessel  grew 
every  moment  more  irresistible ;  but  one 
thing  I  saw  was  absolutely  necessary,  which 
was,  to  collect  all  my  hands  to  get  her  out 
from  the  situation  where  we  had  found  her. 
I  therefore  though!:  of  taking  with  me  the 


340  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  110BI1S  kOJSr. 

three  boys :  I  even  wished  that  my  wife 
should  accompany  us ;  but  she  had  been 
seized  with  such  a  horror  of  the  perfidious 
element,  as  she  called  it,  the  sea,  that  she 
assured  me  the  very  attempt  would  make  her 
ill  and  useless.  I  had  some  difficulty  to  pre- 
vail upon  her  to  let  so  many  as  three  of  the 
children  go  :  she  made  me  promise  to  return 
the  same  evening,  and  on  no  account  to  pass 
another  night  on  hoard  the  wreck ;  and  to 
this  I  was,  though  with  regret,  obliged  to 
consent. 

After  breakfast  then,  we  prepared  for  set- 
ting out.  The  boys  were  gay  and  on  the 
alert,  in  the  expectation  of  the  pleasure  that 
awaited  them,  particularly  Ernest,  who  had 
not  yet  made  a  single  voyage  with  us  to  the 
vessel.  We  took  with  us  an  ample  provision 
of  boiled  potatoes  and  cassave ;  and  in  addi- 
tion, arms  and  weapons  of  every  kind.  We 
reached  Safety  Bay  without  any  remarkable 
event :  here  we  thought  it  prudent  to  put  on 
our  cork  jackets ;  we  then  scattered  some 
food  for  the  geese  and  ducks  which  had  taken 
up  their  abode  there,  and  soon  after  stepped 
gaily  into  our  tub-raft,  at  the  same  time  fast- 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  o41 

ening  the  new  boat  by  a  rope  to  her  stern,  so 
that  she  could  be  drawn  along.  We  put  out 
for  the  current,  though  not  without  consider- 
able fear  of  finding  that  the  wreck  had  dis- 
appeared. We  soon,  however,  perceived  that 
it  still  remained  firm  between  the  rocks. 
Having  got  on  board,  all  repaired,  on  the 
wings  of  curiosity  and  ardor,  to  that  part  of 
the  vessel  called  the  bulkhead,  which  con- 
tained the  enviable  prize,  the  pinnace.  On 
further  observation,  it  appeared  to  me  that 
the  plan  we  had  formed  was  subject  to  at 
least  two  alarming  difficulties ;  the  one  was 
the  situation  of  the  pinnace  in  the  ship  ;  and 
the  other  was  the  size  and  weight  it  would 
necessarily  acquire  when  put  together.  The 
enclosure  which  contained  the  pinnace  was 
in  the  interior  of  the  ship,  and  timbers  of 
prodigious  bulk  and  weight  separated  it  from 
the  breach,  and  in  this  part  of  the  deck  there 
was  not  sufficient  space  for  us  to  put  the  pin- 
nace together,  or  to  give  her  room  when  done. 
The  breach  also  was  too  narrow  and  too  ir- 
regular to  admit  of  her  being  launched  from 
this  place,  as  we  had  done  with  our  tub-raft. 
In  short,  the  separate  pieces  of  the  pinnace 


d4Z  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

were  too  heavy  for  the  possibility  of  our  re- 
moving them  even  with  the  assistance  of  our 
united  strength.  What  therefore  was  to  be 
done  ?  and  how  could  we  meet  such  formida- 
ble difficulties  ?  I  stood  on  the  spot  absorbed 
in  reflection,  while  the  boys  were  running 
from  place  to  place,  conveying  every  thing 
portable  they  could  find  on  board  the  raft. 

The  cabinet  which  contained  the  pinnace 
was  lighted  by  several  small  fissures  in  the 
timbers,  which  after  standing  in  the  place  a 
few  minutes  to  accustom  the  eye,  enabled  one 
to  see  sufficiently  to  distinguish  objects.  I 
discovered,  with  pleasure,  that  all  the  pieces 
of  which  she  was  composed  were  so  accu- 
rately arranged  and  numbered,  that  without 
too  much  presumption,  I  might  flatter  myself 
with  the  hope  of  being  able  effectually  to  col- 
lect and  put  them  together,  if  I  could  be  al- 
io wed  the  necessary  time,  and  could  procure 
a  convenient  place.  I  therefore,  in  spite  of 
every  disadvantage,  decided  on  the  undertak- 
ing ;  and  we  immediately  set  about  it.  We 
proceeded  at  first  so  slowly  as  to  have  pro- 
duced discouragement,  if  the  desire  of  pos- 
sessing so  admirable  a  little  vessel,  quite  new, 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  843 

perfectly  safe,  easy  to  conduct,  and  which 
might  at  some  future  day  be  the  means  of 
our  deliverance,  had  not  at  every  moment  in- 
spired us  "with  new  strength  and  ardor. 

Evening,  however,  was  fast  approaching, 
and  we  had  made  but  small  progress ;  we 
were  obliged  to  think  of  our  promise  to  my 
wife;  and,  though  with  reluctance,  we  left 
our  occupation  and  re-embarked.  On  reach- 
ing Safety  Bay,  we  found  there  our  kind 
steward  and  little  Francis ;  they  had  been, 
during  the  day,  employed  in  arrangements 
for  our  living  at  Tent-House  as  long  as  we 
should  have  occasion  to  continue  the  excur- 
sions to  the  vessel :  this  she  did  to  shorten 
the  length  of  the  voyage,  and  that  we  might 
be  always  in  sight  of  each  other.  In  return 
for  her  kindness,  I  made  the  best  display  I 
could  of  two  casks  of  salted  butter,  three  of 
flour,  some  small  bags  of  millet  seed  and  of 
rice,  and  some  other  articles  of  utility  and 
comfort  for  our  establishment ;  and  the  whole 
was  removed  to  our  storehouse  at  the  rocks. 

We  passed  an  entire  week  in  this  arduous 
-undertaking  of  the  pinnace.  I  embarked 
every  morning  with  my  three  sons,  and  re- 


344  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

turned  every  evening,  and  never  without  some 
small  addition  to  our  stores.  We  were  now 
so  accustomed  to  this  manner  of  proceeding, 
that  my  wife  bade  us  good-by  without  con- 
cern, and  we,  on  our  parts,  left  Tent-House 
without  anxiety;  she  even  had  the  courage 
to  go  several  times,  with  no  companion  but 
her  little  Francis,  to  Falcon's  Stream,  to  feed 
and  take  care  of  the  poultry,  and  to  bring 
back  potatoes  for  our  use.  As  night  succes- 
sively returned,  we  had  a  thousand  interest- 
ing things  to  tell  each  other,  and  the  pleasure 
of  being  together  was  much  increased  by 
these  short  separations. 

At  length  the  pinnace  was  completed,  and 
in  a  condition  to  be  launched:  the  question 
now  was,  how  to  manage  this  remaining  diffi- 
culty. She  was  an  elegant  little  vessel,  per- 
fect in  every  part:  she  had  a  small  neat 
deck;  and  her  mast  and  sails  were  no  less 
exact  and  perfect  than  those  of  a  little  brig. 
It  was  probable  she  would  sail  well,  from  the 
lightness  of  her  construction,  and  in  conse- 
quence drawing  but  little  water.  We  had 
pitched  and  towed  all  the  seams,  that  noth- 
ing might  be  wanting  for  her  complete  ap- 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  Mb 

pearance :  we  had  even  taken  the  pains  of 
further  embellishing,  by  mounting  her  with 
two  small  cannon  of  about  a  pound  weight ; 
and,  in  imitation  of  larger  vessels,  had  fas- 
tened them  to  the  deck  with  chains.  But  in 
spite  of  the  delight  we  felt  in  contemplating 
a  work,  as  it  were,  of  our  own  industry ;  the 
great  difficulty  still  remained :  the  said  com- 
modious, charming  little  vessel,  still  stood 
fast  enclosed  within  four  walls ;  nor  could  I 
conceive  of  a  means  of  getting  her  out.  To 
effect  a  passage  through  the  outer  side  of  the 
vessel,  by  means  of  our  united  industry  in 
the  use  of  all  the  "utensils  we  had  secured, 
seemed  to  present  a  prospect  of  exertions 
beyond  the  reach  of  man,  even  if  not  at- 
tended with  dangers  the  most  alarming.  "We 
examined  if  it  might  be  practicable  to  cut 
away  all  intervening  timbers,  to  which,  from 
the  nature  of  the  breach,  we  had  easier  ac- 
cess; but  should  we  even  succeed  in  this 
attempt,  the  upper  timbers  being,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  inclined  position  of  the  ship, 
on  a  level  with  the  water,  our  labor  would  be 
unavailing :  besides,  we  had  neither  strength 
nor  time  for  such  a  proceeding;  from  one 


346  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

moment  to  another,  a  storm  might  arise  and 
ingulf  the  ship,  timbers,  pinnace,  ourselves, 
and  all.  Despairing,  then,  of  being  able  to 
find  a  means  consistent  with  the  sober  rules 
of  art,  my  impatient  fancy  inspired  the 
thought  of  a  project,  which  could  not  how- 
ever be  tried  without  hazards  and  dangers  of 
a  tremendous  nature. 

I  had  found  on  board  a  strong  iron  mortar, 
such  as  is  used  in  kitchens.  I  took  a  thick 
oak  plank,  and  nailed  to  different  parts  of  it 
some  large  iron  hooks :  with  a  knife  I  cut  a 
groove  along  the  middle  of  the  plank.  I 
sent  the  boys  to  fetch  some  match-wood  from 
the' hold,  and  I  cut  a  piece  sufficiently  long 
to  continue  burning  at  least  two  hours.  I 
placed  this  train  in  the  groove  of  my  plank : 
I  filled  the  mortar  with  gunpowder,  and  then 
laid  the  plank,  thus  furnished  upon  it,  having 
previously  pitched  the  mortar  all  around; 
and,  lastly,  I  made  the  whole  fast  to  the  spot 
with  strong  chains,  crossed  by  means  of  the 
hooks  in  every  direction.  Thus  I  accom- 
plished a  sort  of  cracker,  from  which  I  ex- 
pected to  effect  a  happy  conclusion.  I  hung 
this  machine  of  mischief  to  the  side  of  the 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  347 

bulk  head  next  the  sea,  having  taken  previ- 
ous care  to  choose  a  spot  in  which  its  action 
could  not  affect  the  pinnace.  When  the  whole 
was  arranged,  I  set  fire  to  the  match,  the  end 
of  which  projected  far  enough  beyond  the 
plank  to  allow  us  sufficient  time  to  escape. 
I  now  hurried  on  board  the  raft,  into  which 
I  had  previously  sent  the  boys  before  apply- 
ing a  light  to  the  match ;  and  who,  though 
they  had  assisted  in  forming  the  cracker,  had 
no  suspicion  of  the  use  for  which  it  was  in- 
tended, and  believing  ail  the  while  it  con- 
cealed some  subject  of  amusement  for  their 
next  trip  to  the  vessel.  I  confess  I  had  pur- 
posely avoided  giving  them  the  true  explana- 
tion, from  the  fear  of  the  entire  failure  of 
my  project,  or  that  the  vessel,  pinnace,  and 
all  that  it  contained,  might  in  consequence 
be  blown  up  in  a  moment.  I  had  naturally, 
therefore,  some  reluctance  to  announce  my- 
self before  the  time  as  the  author  of  so  many 
disasters. 

On  our  arrival  at  Tent-House,  I  immedi- 
ately put  the  raft  in  a  certain  order,  that  she 
might .  be  in  readiness  to  return  speedily  to 
the  wreck,  when  the  noise  produced  by  the 


348  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ItOBINSON. 

cracker  should  have  informed  me  that  my 
scheme  had  taken  effect.  We  set  busily  to 
work  in  emptying  her ;  and  during  the  occu- 
pation, our  ears  were  assailed  with  the  noise 
of  an  explosion  of  such  violence,  that  my  wife 
and  the  boys,  who  were  ignorant  of  the  cause, 
were  so  dreadfully  alarmed  as  instantly  to 
abandon  their  employment.  "What  can  it 
be  ?  —  what  is  the  matter  ?  —  what  can  have 
happened  ?  "  cried  all  at  once.  "  It  must  be 
cannon.  It  is  perhaps  the  captain  and  the 
ship's  company  who  have  found  their  way 
hither  !  'Or  can  it  be  some  vessel  in  distress  ? 
Can  we  go  to  its  relief?  " 

Mother.  —  The  sound  comes  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  wreck :  perhaps  she  has  blown  up. 
—  From  the  bottom  of  her  heart  she  made 
this  suggestion,  for  she  desired  nothing  more 
earnestly  than  that  the  vessel  should  be  an- 
nihilated, and  thus  an  end  be  put  to  our  re- 
peated visits. 

Father.  —  If  this  is  the  case,  said  I,  we 
had  better  return  immediately,  and  convince 
ourselves  of  the  fact.  Who  will  be  of  the 
party  ? 

"I,  I,  I,"  cried  the  boys;    and  the  three 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  d49 

young  rogues  lost  not  a  moment  in  jumping 
into  their  tubs,  whither  I  soon  followed  them, 
after  having  whispered  a  few  words  to  my 
wife,  somewhat  tending  to  explain,  but  still 
more  to  tranquilize  her  mind  during  the  trip 
we  had  now  to  engage  in. 

We  rowed  out  of  the  bay  with  more  rapid- 
ity than  on  any  former  occasion ;  curiosity 
gave  strength  to  our  arms.  When  the  vessel 
was  in  sight,  I  observed  with  pleasure  that 
no  change  had  taken  place  in  the  part  of  her 
which  faced  Tent-House,  and  that  no  sign  of 
smoke  appeared :  we  advanced,  therefore,  in 
excellent  spirits  ;  but  instead  of  rowing,  as 
usual,  straight  to  the  breach,  we  proceeded 
round  to  the  side,  on  the  inside  of  which  we 
had  placed  the  cracker.  The  horrible  scene 
of  devastation  we  had  caused  now  broke  upon 
our  sight.  The  greater  part  of  the  ship's  side 
was  shivered  to  pieces ;  innumerable  splinters 
covered  the  surface  of  the  water ;  the  whole 
exhibited  a  scene  of  terrible  destruction,  in 
the  midst  of  which  presented  itself  our  ele- 
gant pinnace,  entirely  free  from  injury  !  I 
could  not  refrain  from  the  liveliest  exclama- 
tions of  joy,  which  excited  the  surprise. of 


350  THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

the  boys,  who  had  felt  the  disposition  such  a 
spectacle  naturally  inspired,  of  being  de- 
jected. Th§y  fixed  their  eyes  upon  me  with 
the  utmost  astonishment.  —  "Now  then  she 
is  ours!  "  cried  I — "the  elegant  little  pin- 
nace is  ours !  for  nothing  is  now  more  easy 
than  to  launch  her.  Come,  boys,  jump  upon 
her  deck,  and  let  us  see  how  quickly  we  can 
get  her  down  upon  the  water." 

Fritz.  —  Ah  !  now  I  understand  you,  fa- 
ther, you  have  yourself  blown  up  the  side  of 
the  ship  with  that  machine  you  contrived  in 
our  last  visit,  that  we  might  be  able  to  get 
out  the  pinnace ;  but  how  does  it  happen 
that  so  much  of  the  ship  is  blown  away  ? 

Father.  —  I  will  explain  all  this  to  you 
when  I  have  convinced  myself  that  the  pin- 
nace is  not  injured,  and  that  there  is  no  dan- 
ger of  any  of  the  fire  remaining  on  board ; 
let  us  well  examine.  We  entered  by  the  new 
breach,  and  had  soon  reason  to  be  satisfied 
that  the  pinnace  had  wholly  escaped  from 
injury,  and  that  the  fire  was  entirely  extin- 
guished. The-  mortar,  however,  and  pieces 
of  the  chain,  had  been  driven  forcibly  into 
the  opposite  side  of  the  enclosure.     Having 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  351 

now  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  and  tran- 
quil, I  explained  to  the  hoys,  the  nature  of  a 
cracker,  the  manner  of  its  operation,  and 
the  important  service  for  which  I  was  in- 
debted to  the  old  mortar. 

I  then  examined  the  breach  we  had  thus 
effected,  and  next  the  pinnace.  I  perceived 
that  it  would  be  easy,  "with  the  help  of  the 
crow  and  the  lever,  to  lower  her  into  the  wa- 
ter. In  putting  her  together,  I  had  used  the 
precaution  of  placing  her  keel  on  rollers, 
that  we  might  not  experience  the  same  diffi- 
culty as  we  had  formerly  done  in  launching 
our  tub-raft.  Before  letting  her  go,  how- 
ever, I  fastened  the  end  of  a  long  thick  rope 
to  her  head,  and  the  other  end  to  the  most 
solid  part  of  the  wreck,  for  fear  of  her  being 
carried  out  too  far.  VvTe  put  our  whole  inge- 
nuity and  strength  to  this  undertaking,  and 
soon  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  seeing  our  pretty 
pinnace  descend  gracefully  into  the  sea ;  the 
rope  keeping  her  sufficiently  near,  and  ena- 
bling us  to  draw  her  close  to  the  spot  where 
I  was  loading  the  tub-boat,  and  where,  for 
that  purpose,  I  had  lodged  a  pulley  on  a  pro- 
jecting beam,  from  which  I  was  enabled  also 


352  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

to  advance  with  the  completing  of  the  neces- 
sary masts  and  sails  for  our  new  Large.  I 
endeavored  to  recollect  minutely  all  the  in- 
formation I  had  ever  possessed  on  the  art  of 
equipping  a  vessel;  and  our  pinnace  was 
shortly  in  a  condition  to  set  sail. 

On  this  occasion,  a  spirit  of  military  af- 
fairs was  awakened  in  the  minds  of  my  young 
group,  which  was  never  after  extinguished. 
We  were  masters  of  a  vessel  mounted  with, 
two  cannon,  and  furnished  amply  with  guns 
and  pistols !  This  was  at  once  to  be  invinci- 
ble, and  in  a  condition  for  resisting  and  de- 
stroying the  largest  fleet  the  savages  could 
bring  upon  us  !  In  the  height  of  exultation, 
it  was  even  almost  wished  they  might  assail 
us !  For  my  own  part,  I  answered  their 
young  enthusiasm  with  pious  prayers,  that 
we  might  ever  escape  such  a  calamity  as  the 
being;  compelled  to  use  our  fire-arms.     Night 

O  i  o 

surprised  us  before  we  had  finished  our  work, 
and  we  accordingly  prepared  for  our  return 
to  Tent-House,  after  drawing  the  pinnace 
close  under  the  vessel's  side.  We  arrived  in 
safety,  and  took  great  care,  as  had  been  pre- 
viously agreed  on,  not  to  mention  our  new 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  353 

and  invaluable  booty  to  the  good  mother,  till 
we  could  surprise  her  with  the  sight  of  it  in 
a  state  of  entire  completeness.  In  answer, 
therefore,  to  her  inquiries  as  to  the  noise  she 
heard,  we  told  her  that  a  barrel  of  gunpow- 
der had  taken  fire,  and  had  shivered  to  pieces 
a  small  part  of  the  ship. 

Two  whole  days  more  were  spent  in  com- 
pletely equipping  and  loading  the  beautiful 
little  barge  we  had  now  secured.  When  she 
was  ready  for  sailing,  I  found  it  impossible 
to  resist  the  earnest  importunity  of  the  boys, 
who,  as  a  recompense  for  the  industry  and 
discretion  they  had  employed,  claimed  my 
permission  to  salute  their  mother,  on  their 
approach  to  Tent-House,  with  two  discharges 
of  cannon.  These  accordingly  were  loaded, 
and  the  two  youngest  placed  themselves  with 
a  lighted  match  in  hand,  close  to  the  touch- 
holes,  to  be  in  readiness.  Fritz  stood  at  the 
mast,  to  manage  the  ropes  and  cables,  while 
I  took  my  station  at  the  rudder.  These 
matters  being  adjusted,  we  put  off  with  sen- 
sations of  lively  joy,  which  was  demonstrated 
by  loud  huzzas  and  suitable  gesticulation. 
The  wind  was  favorable,  and  so  brisk,  that 

24 


354  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

we  glided  with  the  rapidity  of  a  bird  along 
the  mirror  of '  the  waters ;  and  while  my 
young  ones  were  transported  with  pleasure 
by  the  velocity  of  the  motion,  I  could  not 
myself  refrain  from  shuddering  at  the  thought 
of  some  possible  disaster. 

Our  old  friend  the  tub-raft  had  been  deep- 
ly loaded,  and  fastened  to  the  pinnace,  and 
it  now  followed  as  an  accompanying  boat  to 
a  superior  vessel.  We  took  down  our  large 
sail  as  soon  as  we  found  ourselves  at  the 
entrance  of  Safety  Bay,  to  have  the  greater 
command  in  steering  the  pinnace ;  and  soon 
the  smaller  ones  were  lowered  one  by  one, 
that  we  might  the  more  securely  avoid  being 
thrown  with  violence  upon  the  rocks  so  prev- 
alent along  the  coast :  thus,  proceeding  at  a 
slower  rate,  we  had  greater  facilities  for  man- 
aging the  important  affair  of  the  discharge 
of  the  cannon.  Arrived  within  a  certain 
distance  —  "  Fire  !  "  cried  Commander  Fritz. 
The  rocks  behind  Tent-House  returned  the 
sound.  —  "Fire!"  said  Fritz  again  —  Er- 
nest and  Jack  obeyed,  and  the  echoes  again 
majestically  replied.  Fritz  at  the  same  mo- 
ment had  discharged  his  two  pistols,  and  all 
joined  instantly  in  three  loud  huzzas. 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  355 

"  Welcome  !  welcome  !  dear  ones,"  was  the 
answer  from  the  anxious  mother,  almost 
breathless  with  astonishment  and  joy  !  "  Wel- 
come !  "  cried  also  little  Francis,  with  his 
feeble  voice,  as  he  stood  clinging  to  her  side, 
and  not  well  knowing  whether  he  was  to  be 
sad  or  merry !  We  now  tried  to  push  to 
shore  with  our  oars  in  a  particular  direction, 
that  we  might  have  the  protection  of  a  pro- 
jecting mass  of  rocks,  and  my  wife  and  little 
Francis  hastened  to  the  spot  to  receive  us : 
"  Ah,  clear  deceitful  ones  !  "  cried  she,  throw- 
ing herself  upon  my  neck,  and  heartily  em- 
bracing me,  what  a  fright  have  you,  and  your 
cannon,  and  your  little  ship,  thrown  me  into  ! 
I  saw  it  advancing  rapidly  towards  us,  and 
was  unable  to  conceive  from  whence  it  could 
come,  or  what  it  might  have  on  board:  I 
stole  with  Francis  behind  the  rocks,  and 
when  I  heard  the  firing,  I  was  near  sinking 
to  the  ground  with  terror ;  if  I  had  not  the 
moment  after  heard  your  voices,  God  knows 
where  we  should  have  run  to  —  but  come,  the 
cruel  moment  is  now  over,  and  thanks  to 
Heaven,  I  have  you  once  again  in  safety ! 
But  tell  me  where  you  got  so  unhoped-for  a 
prize  as  this  neat  charming  little  vessel  ?    In 


356  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

good  truth,  it  would  almost  tempt  me  once 
more  to  venture  on  a  sea-voyage,  especially 
if  she  would  promise  to  convey  us  back  to 
our  dear  country  !  I  foresee  of  what  use  she 
will  be  to  us,  and  for  her  sake  I  think  that  I 
must  try  to  forgive  the  many  sins  of  absence 
you  have  committed  against  me." 

Fritz  now  invited  his  mother  to  get  on 
board,  and  gave  her  his  assistance.  When 
they  had  all  stepped  upon  the  deck,  they  en- 
treated for  permission  to  salute,  by  again  dis- 
charging the  cannon,  and  at  the  same  mo- 
ment to  confer  on  the  pinnace  the  name  of 
their  mother  —  The  Elizabeth. 

My  wife  was  particularly  gratified  by  these 
our  late  adventures ;  she  applauded  our  skill 
and  perseverance:  "but  do  not,"  said  she, 
imagine  that  I  bestow  so  much  commendation 
without  the  hope  of  some  return  in  kind :  on 
the  contrary,  it  is  now  my  turn  to  claim  from 
you,  for  myself  and  little  Francis,  the  same 
sort  of  agreeable  recompense ;  for  we  have 
not,  I  assure  you,  remained  idle  while  the 
rest  were  so  actively  employed  for  the  com- 
mon benefit.  —  No,  not  so  ;  little  Francis  and 
his  mother  found  means  to  be  doing  some- 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  357 

thing  also,  though  not  at  this  moment  pre- 
pared to  furnish  such  unquestionable  proofs 
as  you,  by  your  salutations  of  cannon,  &c. ; 
but  wait  a  little,  good  friends,  and  our  proofs 
shall  hereafter  be  apparent  in  some  dishes  of 
excellent  vegetables  which  we  shall  be  able 
to  regale  you  with.  —  It  depends,  to  say  the 
truth,  only  on  yourselves,  dear  ones,  to  go 
with  me  and  see  what  we  have  done." 

We  did  not  hesitate  to  comply,  and  jumped 
briskly  out  of  the  pinnace  for  the  purpose. 
Taking  her  little  coadjutor  Francis  by  the 
hand,  she  led  the  way,  and  we  followed  in  the 
gayest  mood  imaginable.  She  conducted  us 
up  an  ascent  of  one  of  our  rocks,  and  stop- 
ping at  the  spot  where  the  cascade  is  formed 
from  Jackall's  River,  she  displayed  to  our 
astonished  eyes  a  handsome  kitchen-garden, 
laid  out  properly  in  beds  and  walks,  and,  as 
she  told  us,  everywhere  sowed  with  the  seed 
of  useful  plants. 

"This,"  said  she,  "is  the  pretty  exploit 
we  have  been  engaged  in,  if  you  will  kindly 
think  so  of  it.  In  this  spot  the  earth  is  so 
light,  being  principally  composed  of  decayed 
leaves,  that  Francis  and  I  had  no  difficulty 


358  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

in  working  in  it,  and  then  dividing  it  into 
different  compartments :  one  for  potatoes, 
one  for  manioc,  and  other  smaller  shares 
for  lettuces  of  various  kinds,  not  forgetting 
to  leave  a  due  proportion  to  receive  some 
plants  of  the  sugar-cane.  You,  dear  hus- 
band, and  Fritz,  will  easily  find  means  to 
conduct  sufficient  water  hither  from  the  cas- 
cade, by  means  of  pipes  of  bamboo,  to  keep 
the  whole  in  health  and  vigor ;  and  we  shall 
have  a  double  source  of  pleasure  from  the 
general  prosperity ;  for  both  the  eye  and  the 
palate  will  be  gratified.  But  you  have  not 
yet  seen  all :  there,  on  the  slope  of  the  rock, 
I  have  transplanted  some  plants  of  the  annas. 
Between  these  I  have  sowed  some  melon 
seeds,  which  cannot  fail  to  succeed,  thus  se- 
curely sheltered,  and  in  so  warm  a  soil: 
here  is  a  plot  allotted  to  peas  and  beans, 
and  this  other  for  all  sorts  of  cabbage. 
Round  each  bed  or  plot  I  have  sowed  seeds 
of  maize,  on  account  of  its  tall  and  bushy 
form,  to  serve  as  a  border,  which  at  the  same 
time  will  protect  my  young  plants  from  the 
scorching  heat  of  the  sun." 

I  stood  transported,  in  the  midst  of  so  per- 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  359 

feet  an  exhibition  of  the  kind  zeal  and  perse- 
vering industry  of  this  most  amiable  of  wo- 
men !  I  could  only  exclaim,  that  I  should 
never  have  believed  in  the  possibility  of  such  a 
labor  in  so  short  a  time,  and  particularly  with 
so  much  privacy  as  to  leave  me  wholly  unsus- 
picious of  the  existence  of  such  a  project. 

Mother.  —  To  confess  the  truth,  I  scarcely 
myself  expected  to  succeed,  so  I  resolved  to 
be  silent,  to  avoid  being  put  to  the  blush  for 
my  presumption.  But  as  I  found  my  little 
calculations  answer  better  than  I  expected,  I 
was  encouraged,  and  the  hope  of  surprising 
you  so  agreeably  gave  me  new  strength  and 
activity.  I,  however,  was  not  without  my 
suspicions  that  your  daily  visits  to  the  wreck 
were  connected  with  some  great  mystery, 
which  at  a  certain  time  you  would  unfold. — 
So,  mystery  for  mystery,  thought  I;  and 
thus  my  love,  it  has  turned  out.  Though  act- 
ing in  different  directions,  one  only  object  has 
been  our  mutual  aim  —  the  substantial  good 
of  our  beloved  companions  of  the  desert ! 

After  a  few  jocose  remarks,  with  which  we 
closed  this  conversation,  we  moved  towards 
Tent-House.     This  was  one  of  our  happiest 


360  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

days  ;  for  we  were  all  satisfied  -with  ourselves 
and  with  each  other;  we  had  conferred  and 
received  benefits ;  and  'I  led  my  children  to 
observe  the  goodness  of  Providence,  who 
renders  even  labor  a  source  of  enjoyment, 
and  makes  our  own  happiness  result  from 
that  of  the  objects  of  our  affection,  and  our 
pride  to  arise  from  the  commendations  of 
which  those  objects  may  be  deserving. 

"I  had  almost  forgot,  though,"  said  my 
wife,  after  a  short  pause,  "  one  little  reproach 
I  had  to  make  you :  your  trips  to  the  vessel 
have  made  you  neglect  the  bundle  of  precious 
fruit-saplings  we  laid  together  in  mould  at 
Falcon's  Stream ;  I  fear  they  by  this  time 
must  be  dying  for  want  of  planting,  though 
I  took  care  to  water  and  cover  them  with 
branches.  Let  us  go,  my  love,  and  see  about 
them." 

I  readily  consented,  as  many  other  matters 
required  our  presence  at  Falcon's  Stream. 
We  had  now  in  possession  the  greater  part 
of  the  cargo  of  the  vessel ;  but  almost  the 
whole  of  these  treasures  were  at  present  in 
the  open  air,  and  liable  to  injury  from  both 
sun  and  rain. 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  361 

My  "wife  prepared  with  alertness  for  our 
walk.  We  hastened  to  unload  the  boat,  and 
to  place  the  cargo  safely  under  shelter  along 
with  our  other  stores. 

The  pinnace  was  anchored  on  the  shore, 
and  fastened  with  a  rope,  by  her  head,  to  a 
stake.  When  all  our  stores  were  thus  dis- 
posed of,  we  began  our  journey  to  Falcon's 
Stream,  but  not  empty-handed ;  we  took  with 
us  every  thing  that  seemed  to  be  absolutely 
wanted  for  comfort;  and  when  brought  to- 
gether, it  was  really  so  much,  that  both  our- 
selves and  our  beasts  of  burden  had  no  easy 
task  to  perform. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Gymnastic  Exercises;   various  Discoveries ;    sin- 
gular Animals,  &c. 

I  recommended  to  my  sons  to  resume  the 
exercise  of  the  shooting  of  arrows  ;  for  I  had 
an  extreme  solicitude  about  their  preserving 
and  increasing  their  bodily  strength  and 
agility.     Nothing  tends  more  to  the  extine- 


362  THE    SWISS   FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

tion  of  personal  courage  in  a  human  being, 
than  the  consciousness  of  wanting  that 
strength  of  limb,  or  that  address  which  may 
be  necessary  to  aid  us  in  defending  ourselves, 
or  in  escaping  from  dangers.  On  this  occa- 
sion, I  added  the  exercises  of  running,  jump- 
ing, getting  up  trees,  both  by  means  of  climb- 
ing by  the  trunk,  or  by  a  suspended  rope,  as 
sailors  are  obliged  to  do  to  get  to  the  mast- 
head. We  began  at  first  by  making  knots 
in  the  rope,  at  a  foot  distance  from  each 
other ;  then  we  reduced  the  number  of  knots, 
and  before  we  left  off  we  contrived  to  succeed 
without  any.  I  next  taught  them  an  exer- 
cise of  a  different  nature,  which  was  to  be 
effected  by  means  of  two  balls  made  of  lead, 
fastened  one  to  each  end  of  a  string  about  a 
fathom  in  length.  While  I  was  preparing 
this  machinery,  all  eyes  were  fixed  upon  me. 
"What  can  it  be  intended  for?"  cried  one: 
"How  can  we  use  it?"  asked  another: 
"  Will  it  soon  be  ready  ? "  continued  a  third. 
"I  am  endeavoring,"  said  I,  "  to  imitate 
the  arms  used  by  a  valiant  nation,  remark- 
able for  their  skill  in  the  chase,  and  whoni 
you  all  must  have  heard  of:  I  mean  the  Pat- 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  363 

agonians,  inhabitants  of  the  most  southern 
point  of  America;  but,  instead  of  balls, 
which  they  are  not  able  to  procure,  they 
tie  two  heavy  stones,  one  at  each  end  of  a 
cord,  but  considerably  longer  than  the  one  I 
am  working  with  :  every  Patagonian  is  armed 
with  this  simple  instrument,  which  they  use 
with  singular  dexterity.  If  they  desire  to 
kill  or  wound  an  enemy,  or  an  animal,  they 
fling  one  of  the  ends  of  this  cord  at  him,  and 
begin  instantly  to  draw  it  back  by  the  other, 
which  they  keep  carefully  in  their  hand,  to 
be  ready  for  another  throw  if  necessary :  but 
if  they  wish  to  take  an  animal  alive,  and 
without  hurting  it,  they  possess  the  singular 
art  of  throwing  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  make 
it  run  several  times  round  the  neck  of  the 
prey,  occasioning  a  perplexing  tightness ; 
they  then  throw  the  second  stone,  and  with 
so  certain  an  aim,  that  they  scarcely  ever 
miss  their  object :  the  operation  of  the  sec- 
ond is,  the  so  twisting  itself  about  the  animal 
as  to  impede  his  progress,  even  though  he 
were  at  a  full  gallop.  The  stones  continue 
turning,  carrying  with  them  the  cord :  the 
poor  animal  is  at  length  so  entangled,  that 


364  TIIE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

he  can  neither  advance  nor  retire,  and  thus 
falls  a  prey  to  the  enemy." 

This  description  was  heard  with  much  in- 
terest by  the  boys,  who  now  all  entreated  I 
would  that  instant  try  the  effect  of  my  own 
instrument  upon  a  small  trunk  of  a  tree 
wdiich  we  saw  at  a  certain  distance.  My 
throws  entirely  succeeded ;  and  the  string 
with  the  balls  at  the  end  so  completely  sur- 
rounded the  tree,  that  the  skill  of  the  Pata- 
gonian  huntsmen  required  no  further  illustra- 
tion. Each  of  the  boys  must  then  needs 
have  a  similar  instrument ;  and  in  a  short 
time  Fritz  became  quite  expert  in  the  art,  as 
indeed  he  was  in  every  kind  of  exercise  that 
required  strength  or  address :  he  was  not 
only  the  most  alert  of  my  children,  but  be- 
ing the  eldest,  his  muscles  were  more  formed, 
and  his  intelligence  was  more  developed,  than 
could  yet  be  expected  in  the  other  three. 

The  next  morning  as  I  was  dressing,  I  re- 
marked from  my  window  in  the  tree,  that  the 
sea  was  violently  agitated,  and  the  waves 
swelled  with  the  wind.  I  rejoiced  to  find 
myself  in  safety  in  my  home,  and  that  the 
day  had  not  been  destined  for  out-of-door  oc- 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROEIXSON.  365 

cupation.  I  observed  then  to  my  wife,  that 
I  should  not  leave  her  the  whole  day,  and 
therefore  was  ready  to  execute  any  thing  she 
found  wanting-  in  our  domestic  arrangement* 
We  now  fell  to  a  more  minute  examination 
than  I  had  hitherto  had  time  for,  of  all  our 
various  possessions  at  Falcon's  Stream.  She 
showed  me  many  things  she  had  herself  found 
means  to  add  to  them  during  my  repeated 
absences  from  home :  among  these  was  a 
pair  of  young  pigeons  which  had  been  lately 
hatched,  and  were  already  beginning  to  try 
their  win^s,  while  their  mother  was  a  cram  sit- 

O     7  O 

ting  on  her  eggs.  From  these  we  passed  to 
the  fruit  trees  we  had  laid  in  earth  to  be 
planted,  and  which  were  in  real  need  of  our 
assistance.  I  immediately  set  myself  to  pre- 
vent so  important  an  injury.  I  had  promised 
the  boys,  the  evening  before,  to  go  all  to- 
gether to  the  wood  of  gourds,  to  provide  our- 
selves with  vessels  of  different  sizes  to  keep 
our  provisions  in :  they  were  enchanted  with 
the  idea,  but  I  bargained  that  they  must  first 
assist  me  to  plant  all  the  young  trees  ;  which 
was  no  sooner  said  than  set  about. 

When  we  had  finished,  the  evening  was  too 


366  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

far  advanced  for  so  long  a  walk.  By  sunrise 
the  next  morning  all  were  on  foot ;  for  noth- 
ing can  exceed  the  alertness  of  young  per- 
sons who  act  in  expectation  of  a  pleasurable 
change  of  scene.  The  ass,  harnessed  to  the 
sledge,  played  the  principal  character :  his 
office  was  to  carry  our  dinners,  a  bottle  of 
Canary  wine,  and  some  powder  and  shot,  and 
to  bring  home  our  service  of  empty  gourds. 
Turk,  according  to  custom,  led  the  way  as 
our  advanced  guard  :  next  followed  the  three 
eldest  boys,  equipped  for  sporting :  after 
them,  the  tender  mother,  leading  the  little 
one :  and  Flora  brought  up  the  rear,  with 
the  monkey  on  her  back,  to  which  the  boys 
had  given  the  name  of  Knips..  On  this  occa- 
sion I  took  with  me  a  double-barreled  gun, 
loaded  on  the  one  side  with  shot  for  game, 
and  on  the  other  with  ball,  in  case  of  meet- 
ing with  an  enemy. 

In  this  manner  we  set  out,  full  of  good- 
humor  and  high  spirits,  from  Falcon's  Stream. 
Turning  round  Flamingo  Marsh,  we  soon 
reached  the  pleasant  spot  which  before  had 
so  delighted  us.  Fritz  took  a  direction  a 
little  further  from  the  seashore ;  and  sending 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  367 

Turk  into  the  tall  grass,  he  followed  himself, 
and  both  disappeared.  Soon,  eager  for  sport, 
we  heard  Turk  barking  loud ;  a  large  bird 
sprung  up,  and  almost  at  the  same  moment  a 
shot  from  Fritz  brought  it  down  :  but  though 
wounded  it  was  not  killed;  it  raised  itself, 
and  got  off  with  incredible  swiftness,  not  by 
flying  but  by  running.  Turk  followed,  and 
seizing  the  bird,  held  it  fast  till  Fritz  came 
up.  Now  a  different  scene  succeeded  from 
that  which  took  place  at  the  capture  of  the 
flamingo.  The  legs  of  that  bird  are  long  and 
weak,  and  it  was  able  to  make  but  a  poor  re- 
sistance. The  present  captive  was  large  in 
size,  and  strong ;  it  struck  the  dogs,  or  who- 
ever came  near,  with  its  legs,  .with  so  much 
force,  that  Fritz,  who  had  received  a  blow  or 
two,  dared  not  again  approach  the  enemy. 
Fortunately  I  reached  the  spot  in  time  to 
give  assistance,  and  was  pleased  to  see  that 
it  was  a  female  bustard  of  the  largest  size. 
I  had  long  wished  to  possess  and  to  tame  a 
bird  of  this  species  for  our  poultry-yard, 
though  I  foresaw  that  it  would  be  somewhat 
difficult. 

To  secure  the  bird  without  injuring  it,  I 


36S         the  swiss  family  robinson. 

threw  my  pocket-handkerchief  over  the  head 
of  the  bustard ;  it  could  not  disengage  itself, 
and  its  efforts  only  served  to  entangle  it  the 
more.  As  it  could  not  now  see  me,  I  got 
near  enough  to  pass  a  string  with  a  running 
knot  over  its  legs,  which,  for  the  present,  I 
drew  tight,  to  prevent  further  mischief  from 
such  powerful  weapons.  I  gently  released 
its  wing  from  Turk's  mouth,  and  tied  it,  with 
its  fellow,  close  to  the  bird's  body.  In  short, 
the  bustard. was  our  o'wn  !  and  that  in  a  con- 
dition to  promise  its  preservation  when  we 
should  once  have  conveyed  it  to  Falcon's 
Stream,  and  could  administer  care  and  kind- 
ness to  compensate  for  the  rough  treatment 
it  had  experienced  at  our  hands. 

We  removed  the  prisoner  to  the  spot  where 
our  companions  had  been  waiting  our  return. 
Erne3t  and  Jack  ran  briskly  forward,  bawl- 
ing out,  "  Oh,  what  a  handsome  bird  !  And 
what  a  size  !  What  beautiful  feathers  !  "  — 
"  I  think  it  is  a  female  bustard,"  said  Ernest. 
"  And  you  are  right,"  answered  I ;  "its  flesh 
is  excellent,  having  somewhat  of  the  flavor 
of  the  turkey,  to  which  it  also  in  some  other 
respects  has  resemblance.     Let  us  endeavor 


THE  SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  369 

to  tame  and  preserve  it  by  all  means.  We 
have  gained  for  our  poultry-yard  a  bird  of 
rare  value  on  account  of  its  size,  which  will, 
it  may  be  hoped,  attract  its  mate,  and  thus 
furnish  us  with  a  brood  of  its  species." 

I  now  fixed  the  bustard  on  the  sledge,  in  a 
posture  the  most  favorable  to  its  ease.  As 
we  advanced  on  our  way,  I  was  frequently 
obliged  to  use  the  hatchet  to  make  a  free 
passage  for  the  ass  in  the  tall  grass.  The 
heat  also  increased,  and  we  were  all  com- 
plaining of  thirst,  when  Ernest,  whose  dis- 
coveries were  generally  of  a  kind  to  be  of 
use,  made  one  of  a  most  agreeable  nature. 
He  has  already  been  described  as  a  lover  of 
natural  history,  and  now  he  had  gathered,  as 
he  proceeded,  such  plants  as  he  met  with, 
with  the  view  of  adding  to  his  stock  of  knowl- 
edge. He  found  a  kind  of  hollow  stalk  of 
some  height,  which  grew  at  the  foot  of  trees, 
and  entangled  our  feet  in  walking.  He  cut 
one  of  them,  and  was  surprised  to  see  a  drop 
of  pure  fresh  water  issue  at  the  place  where 
the  knife  had  been  applied ;  he  showed  it  to 
us,  put  it  to  his  lips,  and  found  it  pure,  and 

felt  much  regret  that  there  was  no  more.     I 

25 


370  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

then  fell  to  examining  the  phenomenon  my- 
self, and  soon  perceived  that  the  want  of  air 
prevented  a  more  considerable  issue  of  water. 
I  made  some  more  incisions,  and  presently 
water  flowed  out  as  if  from  a  small  con- 
duit. Ernest,  and  after  him  the  other  boys, 
quenched  their  thirst  at  this  new  fountain, 
in  the  completest  manner.  I  tried  the  ex- 
periment of  dividing  the  plants  longways, 
and  they  soon  gave  out  water  enough  to  sup- 
ply even  the  ass,  the  monkey,  and  the  bus- 
tard. For  my  own  part,  touched  with  deep 
gratitude  for  the  goodness  of  God  towards 
me  and  my  beloved  family,  I  raised  my  eyes 
to  Heaven  in  thankfulness. 

We  were  still  compelled  to  fight  our  way 
through  thick  bushes,  till  at  length  arrived  at 
the  wood  of  gourds,  we  were  not  long  in  find- 
ing the  spot  where  Fritz  and  I  had  once  be- 
fore enjoyed  so  agreeable  a  repose.  Our 
companions  had  not  soon  done  admiring  and 
wondering  at  the  magnificence  of  the  trees 
they  now  beheld,  and  the  prodigious  size  of 
the  fruit  which  grew  upon  the  trunk. 

Jack  and  Ernest  employed  themselves  in 
collecting  dried   branches  and  flints,   while 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  371 

their  mother  was  occupied  in  attending  to 
the  poor  bustard.  She  remarked  to  me,  that 
it  was  cruel  to  keep  her  any  longer  blinded, 
and  her  legs  tied  together  on  the  sledge.  To 
please  her,  I  took  off  the  covering  and  loos- 
ened the  string  on  the  legs,  but  still  left  it 
so  as  to  be  a  guard  against  its  running  away, 
or  inflicting  blows  on  those  who  might  ap- 
proach. I  tied  her  by  a  long  string  to  the 
trunk  of  a  tree,  that  she  might  relieve  herself 
by  walking  about. 

My  wife  now  gave  us  notice,  that  she 
should  want  some  vessels  to  contain  milk,  a 
large  flat  spoon  to  cut  out  butter  by  pieces, 
and  next,  some  pretty  plates  for  serving  it  at 
table,  made  from  the  gourd  rinds. 

Father.  —  You  are  perfectly  reasonable  in 
your  demand,  dear  wife,  said  I ;  and,  on  my 
part,  I  require  some  nests  for  the  pigeons, 
some  baskets  for  eggs,  and  some  hives  for 
bees. 

All.  —  Oh  yes,  these  things  must  all  be 
made,  we  will  set  earnestly  to  work. 

Jack. — But  first,  father,  tell  us  how  to 
divide  one  of  the  rinds  with  a  string. 

I  made  them  gather  or  collect,  till  we  were 


372  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

in  possession  of  a  sufficient  number.  We  now 
began  our  work :  some  had  to  cut ;  others  to 
saw,  scoop  out,  and  model  into  agreeable 
forms.  It  was  a  real  pleasure  to  witness  the 
activity  exhibited  in  this  our  manufacture  of 
porcelain:  each  tried  what  specimens  he 
could  present  for  the  applause  of  his  compan- 
ions. For  my  own  part,  I  made  a  pretty 
basket,  large  enough  to  carry  eggs,  with  one 
of  the  gourds,  leaving  an  arch  at  the  top  to 
serve  as  a  cover.  I  likewise  accomplished  a 
certain  number  of  vessels,  also  with  covers,  fit 
to  hold  our  milk,  and  then  some  spoons  to 
skim  the  cream.  My  next  attempt  was  some 
bottles  large  enough  to  hold  fresh  water,  and 
these  occasioned  me  more  trouble  than  all  the 
rest.  It  was  necessary  to  empty  the  gourd 
through  the  small  opening  of  the  size  of  one's 
finger,  which  I  had  cut  in  it ;  I  was  obliged, 
after  loosening  the  contents  with  a  stick,  to 
get  them  out  by  friction  with  shot  and  water 
well  shaken  on  the  inside.  Lastly,  to  please 
my  wife,  I  undertook  the  labor  of  a  set  of 
plates  for  her  use.  Fritz  and  Jack  engaged 
to  make  the  hives  for  the  bees  and  nests  for 
the  pigeons  and  hens.     For  this  last  object, 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  373 

they  took  the  largest  gourds,  and  cut  a  hole 
in  front,  the  size  of  the  animal  for  whose  use 
it  was  intended :  they  had,  when  finished,  so 
very  pretty  an  appearance,  that  little  Fran- 
cis was  ready  to  cry  that  he  was  not  quite 
small  enough  to  get  into  and  live  in  one  of 
them.  The  pigeons'  nests  were  intended  to 
be  tied  to  the  branches  of  our  tree ;  those  for 
the  hens,  the  geese,  and  the  ducks,  were  to 
be  placed  between  its  roots,  or  on  the  sea- 
shore, and  to  represent  a  sort  of  hen-coop. 

Our  work,  added  to  the  heat  of  the  day, 
had  made  us  all  thirsty ;  but  we  found  noth- 
ing on  this  spot  like  our  fountain  plants,  as 
we  had  named  them.  The  boys  entreated  me 
to  go  with  them  in  different  directions,  and 
try  to  find  some  water,  not  daring  by  them- 
selves to  venture  further  into  the  wood. 

Ernest  with  great  eagerness  proposed  re- 
lieving me  of  this  trouble,  and  putting  him- 
self in  my  place.  It  was  not  long  before  we 
heard  him  calling  loudly  to  us,  and  saw  him 
returning  in  great  alarm.  "  Run  quick,  fa- 
ther," said  he,  "here  is  an  immense  wild 
boar.  Oh,  how  he  frightened  me  !  I  heard 
him  grunting  quite  close  to  me,  and  then  he 


374  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

scampered  away  to  the  wood.     I  hear  him  at 
this  very  moment." 

I  then  cried  out  to  the  boys  to  call  the 
dogs  quickly.  "Halloo,  here,  Turk !  Flora ! " 
The  dogs  arrived  full  gallop.  Ernest  was 
our  leader,  and  conducted  us  to  the  place 
where  he  saw  the  boar;  but  he  was  gone, 
and  we  saw  nothing  but  a  plot  of  potatoes 
which  appeared  to  have  been  ransacked  by 
the  animal.  The  ardor  for  the  chase  had 
been  somewhat  checked  in  Jack  and  Ernest, 
when  they  considered  that  they  had  so  form- 
idable a  creature  to  encounter  :  they  stopped 
short,  and  began  to  dig  potatoes,  and  left  it 
to  Fritz  and  me  to  follow  the  traces  of  the 
dogs.  We  soon  heard  the  cry  of  the  latter ; 
for  they  had  overtaken  the  runaway,  and 
soon  after  the  most  hideous  growling  assailed 
our  ears  from  the  same  quarter.  We  ad- 
vanced with  caution,  holding  our  guns  in  read- 
iness to  fire  together  the  instant  the  animal 
should  be  within  the  proper  distance.  Pres- 
ently the  spectacle  of  the  two  brave  creatures 
attacking  him  on  the  right  and  left  presented 
itself;  each  held  one  of  his  ears  between 
their  teeth.     But  it  was  not  a  boar,  but  our 


URRIDCEaCLEV-1 

THE  LOST  SOW. 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  375 

own  sow  which  had  run  away  and  so  long 
been  lost !  After  the  first  surprise  we  could 
not  resist  a  hearty  laugh ;  and  then  we  hast- 
ened to  disencumber  our  old  friend  of  the 
teeth  of  her  two  adversaries.  Her  frightful 
.{ualling  resounded  through  the  wood,  and 
rew  our  young  companions  to  the  place, 
Vrhen  a  warfare  of  banter  and  accusation 
went  round  among  the  parties.  But  here  the 
attention  of  all  was  attracted  to  a  kind  of 
small  potato  which  we  observed  lying  thick 
on  the  grass  around  us,  and  which  had  fallen 
from  some  trees  "which  appeared  loaded  with 
the  same  production :  our  sow  devoured  them 
greedily,  thus  consoling  herself  for  the  pain 
and  fright  the  dogs  had  occasioned  her. 

The  fruit  was  of  different  colors,  and  ex- 
tremely pleasing  to  the  eye.  Fritz  ex- 
pressed his  apprehension  that  it  was  the 
poisonous  apple  called  the  Mancenilla ;  but 
the  sow  ate  them  with  so  much  eagerness, 
and  the  tree  which  bore  them  having  neither 
the  form  nor  foliage  ascribed  by  naturalists 
to  the  Mancenilla,  made  me  doubt  of  the 
truth  of  his  idea.  I  desired  my  sons  to  put 
some  of  the  fruit  in  their  pockets,  to  make  an 


376  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

experiment  with  them  upon  the  monkey.  We 
now  again,  from  extreme  thirst,  began  to  rec- 
ollect our  want  of  water,  and  determined  to 
seek  for  some  in  every  direction.  Jack 
sprang  off,  and  sought  among  the  rocks, 
hoping  that  he  should  discover  some  little 
stream ;  but  scarcely  had  he  left  the  wood, 
than  he  bawled  to  us  that  he  had  found  a 
crocodile ! 

"A  crocodile!"  cried  I  with  a  hearty 
laugh,  "you  have  a  fine  imagination,  my 
boy !  who  ever  saw  a  crocodile  on  such 
scorching  rocks  as  these,  and  with  not  a 
drop  of  water  near?  Now,  Jack,  you  are 
surely  dreaming " 

"Not  so  much  of  a  dream  as  you  may 
think,  father,"  answered  Jack,  trying  to 
speak  in  a  low  voice;  "fortunately  he  is 
asleep  ;  —  he  lies  here  on  a  stone  at  his  full 
length ;  —  do,  father,  step  here  and  look  at 
it;  it  does  not  stir  in  the  least." 

We  stole  softly  to  the  place  where  the  an- 
imal lay ;  but  instead  of  a  crocodile,  I  saw 
before  me  a  large  sort  of  lizzard,  named  by 
naturalists  Leguana  or  Yguana,  an  animal 
by  nature  of  a  mild  character,  and  excellent 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  377 

as  food.  Instantly  all  were  for  seizing  him, 
and  presenting  so  rare  a  prize  to  their  mo- 
ther. Fritz  was  already  taking  aim  with  his 
gun ;  but  I  prevented  him,  observing,  that 
the  animal  being  protected  by  a  coat  of 
scale,  it  might  be  difficult  to  destroy  him, 
and  that  he  is  known  to  be  dangerous,  if  ap- 
proached when  angry.  "  Let  us  try,"  said 
I,  "another  sort  of  experiment;  as  he  is 
asleep,  we  need  not  be  in  a  hurry ;  only  a 
little  contrivance  is  necessary  to  have  him 
safe  in  our  power  alive,  and  the  process  will 
afford  us  an  amusing  spectacle." 

I  cut  a  stout  stick  from  a  bush,  to  the  ex- 
tremity of  which  I  tied  a  string  with  a  run- 
ning knot.  I  guarded  my  other  hand  simply 
with  a  little  switch,  and  thus  with  cautious 
steps  approached  the  creature.  When  I  was 
very  near  to  him,  I  began  to  whistle  a  lively 
air,  taking  care  to  make  the  sounds  low  at 
first,  and  to  increase  in  loudness  till  the  liz- 
ard was  awaked.  The  creature  appeared  en- 
tranced with  pleasure  as  the  sounds  fell  upon 
his  ear ;  he  raised  his  head  to  receive  them 
still  more  distinctly,  and  looked  round  on  all 
sides  to  discover  from  whence  they  came.     I 


378  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

now  advanced  by  a  step  at  a  time,  without  a 
moment's  interval  in  the  music,  which  fixed 
him  like  a  statue  to  the  place.  At  length  I 
was  near  enough  to  reach  him  with  my 
switch,  with  which  I  tickled  him  gently,  still 
continuing  to  whistle,  one  after  the  other,  the 
different  airs  I  could  recollect.  The  lizard 
was  bewildered  by  the  charms  of  the  music ; 
the  attitudes  he  threw  himself  into  were  ex- 
pressive of  a  delirious  voluptuousness;  he 
stretched  himself  at  full  length,  made  undu- 
lating motions  with  his  long  tail,  threw  his 
head  about,  raised  it  up,  and  by  this  sort  of 
action,  disclosed  the  formidable  range  of  his 
sharp-pointed  teeth,  which  were  capable  of 
tearing  us  to  pieces  if  we  had  excited  his  hos- 
tility. I  dexterously  seized  the  moment  of 
his  raising  his  head,  to  throw  my  noose  over 
him.  When  this  was  accomplished,  the  boys 
drew  near  also,  and  wanted  instantly  to  draw 
it  tight  and  strangle  him  at  once ;  but  this  I 
positively  forbade,  being  unwilling  to  cause 
the  poor  animal  so  unmerited  a  suffering.  I 
had  used  the  noose  only  to  make  sure  of  him, 
in  case  it  should  happen  that  a  milder  mode 
of  killing  him,  which  I  intended  to  try,  failed 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  379 

of  success,  in  which  case  I  should  have  looked 
to  the  noose  for  protection  ;  but  this  was  ren- 
dered unnecessary.  Continuing  to  whistle 
my  most  affecting  melodies,  I  seized  a  favor- 
able moment  to  plunge  my  switch  into  one 
of  his  nostrils.  The  blood  flowed  in  abun- 
dance, and  soon  deprived  him  of  life,  without 
his  exhibiting  the  least  appearance  of  being 
in  pain  :  on  the  contrary,  to  the  last  moment, 
he  seemed  to  be  still  listening  to  the  music. 

As  soon  as  he  was  dead,  I  allowed  the  boys 
to  come  quite  near,  and  to  tighten  the  noose, 
which  we  now  found  useful  to  draw  him  to 
the  ground  from  the  large  stone  on  which  he 
lay.  My  sons  were  delighted  with  the  means 
I  had  used  for  killing  him  without  pain.  We 
had  now  to  consider  of  the  best  way  for 
transporting  to  Falcon's  Stream  so  large  and 
valuable  a  booty.  After  a  moment  of  reflec- 
tion, I  perceived  that  I  had  better  come  at 
once  to  the  determination  of  carrying  him 
across  my  shoulders ;  and  the  figure  I  made 
with  so  singular  an  animal  on  my  back,  with 
his  tail  dragging  on  the  ground,  was  not  the 
least  amusing  circumstance  of  the  adventure. 
Fritz    and   Jack   presented    themselves    as 


380  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

pages,  contending  which  should  support  my 
train,  as  they  called  the  tail,  which,  independ- 
ently of  the  good  humor  inspired  amongst 
us,  considerably  eased  me  of  the  weight,  and 
gave  me  the  air  of  an  old  Chinese  emperor, 
habited  in  a  superb  royal  mantle  of  many 
colors  ;  for  those  of  the  lizard  shone  like  pre- 
cious stones  in  the  eyes  of  the  sun. 

We  were  proceeding  in  our  return,  when 
we  distinguished  the  voice  of  my  wife  and  lit- 
tle Francis  calling  loudly  upon  my  name. 
Our  long  absence  had  alarmed  them :  we  had 
forgot  on  this  occasion  to  give  them  notice  of 
our  approach  by  firing  our  gun,  and  they  had 
imagined  some  terrible  disaster  must  have  be- 
fallen us.  No  sooner,  however,  did  our  cheer- 
ful notes  reach  their  ear,  than  their  lamenta- 
tions were  changed  to  joy,  and  we  were  soon 
the  happiest  of  beings,  assembled  under  a 
large  gourd  tree,  where  we  related  every  par- 
ticular of  the  excursion  we  had  made,  and  laid 
the  lizard  at  her  feet.  We  had  so  many  things 
to  tell,  that,  till  reminded  by  my  wife,  we  for- 
got to  mention  that  we  had  failed  of  procur- 
ing any  water.  My  sons  had  taken  out  some 
of  the  unknown  apples  from  their  pockets, 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  381 

and  they  lay  on  the  ground  by  our  side. 
Knips  soon  Scented  them,  and  came  slily  up 
and  stole  several,  and  fell  to  chewing  them 
with  great  eagerness.  I  myself  threw  one  or 
two  to  the  bustard,  who  also  ate  them  without 
hesitation.  Being  now  convinced  that  the 
apples  were  not  of  a  poisonous  nature,  I  an- 
nounced to  the  boys,  who  had  looked  on 
with  envy  all  the  time,  that  they  also  might 
begin  to  eat  them,  and  I  myself  set  the 
example.  We  found  them  excellent  in  qual- 
ity, and  I  began  to  suspect  that  they  might  be 
the  sort  of  fruit  called  guava,  which  is  much 
esteemed  in  such  countries.  The  tree  which 
bears  them  is  sometimes  twenty  feet  in  height, . 
and  of  so  fertile  a  nature,  that  in  inhabited 
countries  they  are  sometimes  thinned  and  cut 
down,  on  account  of  the  quantity  of  land  they 
would  occupy.  This  regale  of  the  apples  had 
in  some  measure  relieved  our  thirst ;  but  on 
the  other  hand,  they  had  increased  our  hun- 
ger ;  and  as  we  had  not  time  for  preparing  a 
portion  of  the  lizard,  we  were  obliged  to  con- 
tent ourselves  with  the  cold  provisions  we  had 
brought  with  us. 

We  had  scarcely  finished,  before  my  wife 


382  THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

earnestly  entreated  we  would  begin  our  jour- 
ney home,  and  it  appeared  to  nie,  as  the  eve- 
ning was  so  far  advanced,  that  it  would  be 
prudent  to  return  this  once  without  the  sledge, 
which  was  heavy  laden,  and  the  ass  could  have 
drawn  it  but  slowly :  I  therefore  determined 
to  leave  it  on  the  spot  till  the  following  day, 
when  I  could  return  and  fetch  it,  contenting 
myself  with  loading  the  ass,  for  the  present, 
with  the  bags  which  contained  our  new  sets  of 
porcelain ;  the  lizard,  which  I  feared  might 
not  keep  fresh  so  long ;  and  our  little  Francis, 
who  began  to  complain  of  being  tired.  I 
took  these  arrangements  upon  myself,  and 
left  to  my  wife  and  Fritz  the  care  of  confin- 
ing the  bustard  in  such  a  manner  that  she 
could  walk  before  us  without  danger  of  es- 
caping. 

When  these  preparations  were  complete, 
our  little  caravan  was  put  in  motion,  taking 
the  direction  of  a  straight  line  to  Falcon's 
Stream.  The  course  of  our  route  now  lay 
along  a  wood  of  majestic  oaks,  and  the  ground 
was  covered  with  acorns.  My  young  travel- 
lers could  not  refrain  from  tasting  them,  and 
finding  them  both  sweet  and  mild  to  the  pal- 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  383 

ate,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  reckoning  them  as 
a  new  meatfs  of  support.  On  considering,  I 
recognized  that  they  were  a  kind  of  oak 
which  remains  always  green,  and  are  a  com- 
mon production  of  the  woods  in  Florida,  and 
that  the  Indians  of  North  America  extract 
from  its  fruit  an  excellent  kind  of  sweet  oil, 
which  they  use  in  cooking  their  rice.  Numer- 
ous kinds  of  birds  subsist  upon  these  acorns. 
This  we  were  led  to  remark,  by  the  wild  and 
discordant  cries  of  several  sorts  of  jays  and 
parrots,  which  were  skipping  merrily  among 
the  foliage  and  the  branches. 

We  arrived  shortly  at  Falcon's  Stream, 
and  had  time  to  employ  ourselves  in  some 
trifling  arrangements,  before  it  was  com- 
pletely dark.  My  wife  had  great  pleasure  in 
taking  out  her  service  of  porcelain,  and  using 
some  of  the  articles  that  very  evening ;  par- 
ticularly the  handsome  egg-basket,  and  the 
vessels  for  the  milk.  Fritz  was  instructed  to 
dig  a  place  in  the  ground,  to  serve  for  a  kind 
of  cooler,  the  better  to  preserve  the  milk; 
and  we  covered  it  with  boards,  and  put  heavy 
stones  to  keep  them  down.     Jack  took  the 

pigeons'  nests,  and  scampered  up  the  tree, 

26 


384  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

where  he  nailed  them  to  the  branches;  he 
next  laid  some  dry  moss  within,  and  placed 
one  of  the  female  pigeons  we  had  contrived 
to  tame,  and  which  at  the  time  was  brooding, 
upon  it ;  he  put  the  eggs  carefully  under  the 
mother,  who  seemed  to  accept  his  services, 
and  to  coo  in  return,  with  gratitude. 

We  concluded  the  exertions  of  the  day 
with  a  plain  repast,  and  the  contriving  a 
comfortable  bed  for  the  bustard  by  the  side 
of  the  flamingo,  and  then  stretched  our  weary 
limbs  upon  the  homely  couch,  rendered  by 
fatigue  luxurious,  in  the  gianfc  tree. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Excursion  into  Unknown  Tracts, 

My  first  thought  the  next  morning,  was  to 
fetch  the  sledge  from  the  wood.  I  had  a 
double  motive  for  leaving  it  there,  which  I 
had  refrained  from  explaining  to  my  wife,  to 
avoid  giving  her  uneasiness.     I  had  formed  a 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  385 

wish  to  penetrate  a  little  farther  into  the  land, 
and  ascertain  whether  any  thing  useful  would 
present  itself  beyond  the  wall  of  rocks.  I 
was,  besides,  desirous  to  be  better  acquainted 
with  the  extent,  the  form,  and  general  pro- 
ductions of  our  island  :  I  wished  Fritz  only, 
who  was  stronger  and  more  courageous  than 
his  brothers,  and  Turk,  to  accompany  me. 
We  set  out  very  early  in  the  morning,  and 
drove  the  ass  before  us  for  the  purpose .  of 
drawing  home  the  sledge. 

As  we  were  picking  up  some  acorns,  differ- 
ent birds  of  exquisite  plumage  flitted  about 
us ;  for  this  once,  I  could  not  refuse  Fritz  the 
pleasure  of  firing  upon  them,  that  we  might 
learn  their  species.  He  brought  down  three. 
I  recognized  one  to  be  the  great  blue  Vir- 
ginia jay,  and  the  other  two  Were  parrots. 
One  of  the  two  was  a  superb  red  parrot ;  the 
other  was  green  and  yellow. 

While  Fritz  was  reloading  his  gun,  we 
heard  a  singular  sort  of  noise,  which  came 
from  a  distance.  At  one  moment  it  resem- 
bled a  muffled  drum,  at  another,  the  noise 
made  in  sharpening  a  saw.  My  first  idea 
was  of  music  played  by  savages,  and  we  re- 


386  THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

treated  quickly  to  hide  ourselves  among  the 
bushes  to  listen.  By  degrees  we  advanced 
towards  the  place  from  whence  the  sound  ap- 
peared to  come :  but  perceiving  nothing  to 
alarm  us,  we  separated  some  of  the  branches 
with  our  hands,  and  then  discovered  a  hand- 
some bird,  about  the  size  of  the  English  cock ; 
and,  like  it  too,  adorned  with  elegantly  formed 
smooth  feathers  round  the  neck,  and  a  comb 
upon  his  head.  The  animal  stood -erect  on  a 
decayed  trunk  of  a  tree,  which  was  lying  on 
the  ground,  and  at  this  moment  exhibited 
some  singular  gestures.  His  tail  was  spread 
in  the  form  of  a  fan,  similar  to  that  of  the 
turkey-cock,  but  shorter ;  the  feathers  round 
his  neck  and  head  were  erect  and  bristling. 
He  sometimes  agitated  them  with  so  quick  a 
motion,  as  to  make  them  appear  like  a  vapor 
which  suddenly  inclosed  him  :  sometimes  he 
whirled  himself  round  and  round  on  the  trunk 
of  the  tree ;  at  others  he  moved  his  head  and 
eyes  in  such  a  manner  as  to  express  a  state 
of  distraction,  making,  at  the  same  time,  the 
singular  kind  of  noise  with  his  voice  which 
had  alarmed  us,  and  which  was  preceded  and 
followed  by  a  sort  of  explosion.     This  last 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  S87 

"was  caused  by  the  motion  of  his  wing  striking 
in  a  quick  measure  on  the  trunk,  -which  was 
hollow  and  dry,  and  made  the  noise  resem- 
ble a  muffled  drum.  There  were  assembled 
around  him  a  great  number  of  birds  of  the 
same  species,  but  much  smaller,  and  of  a  less 
beautiful  form.  One  and  all  fixed  their  e^es 
upon  him,  and  seemed  delighted  with  the 
pantomime.  I  contemplated  this  extraordi- 
nary spectacle,  of  which  I  had  formerly  read 
an  account,  with  astonishment.  The  number 
of  the  spectators  of  the  feathered  actor  in- 
creased every  moment,  and  the  performance 
increased  in  spirit  also  in  proportion,  present- 
ing the  idea  of  a  perfect  intoxication  or  de- 
lirium of  the  creature.  At  this  moment 
Fritz,  who  stood  a  little  behind  me,  put  an 
end  to  the  scene  by  firing  off  his  gun.  The 
actor  fell  from  the  stage,  and  stretching  him- 
self on  the  sand,  breathed  his  last,  and  the 
spectators  betook  themselves  suddenly  to 
flight.  I  must  confess,  the  interest  I  took  in 
the  exhibition  was  of  so  lively  a  nature,  that 
I  could  not  refrain  from  reproaching  Fritz  in 
an  angry  tone.  "Why,"  said  I,  "must  we 
be  always  applying  the  means  of  death  and 


388  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

annihilation  to  the  creatures  that  fall  in  our 
way  ?  Is  not  nature  a  thousand  times  more 
exhilerating  in  her  animated  movements, 
which  express  life  and  enjoyment,  than  in 
the  selfish  scheme  of  destruction  you  seem  so 
fond  of?  Some  allowance  should  no  doubt 
be*  made  for  the  curiosity  of  youth,  for  neces- 
sities caused  by  our  situation,  and  even  the 
taste'  you  have  acquired  for  sporting.  I, 
therefore,  as  you  well  know,  do  not  object  to 
your  killing  now  and  then  a  little  game,  or 
some  singular  or  dangerous  kind  of  animal ; 
but  moderation  is  on  all  occasions  useful,  and 
the  spectacle  of  this  bird,  employed  in  such 
earnest  endeavors  to  draw  his  females  around 
him,  was  at  least  as  amusing,  as  to  see  him 
stretched  there  at  length,  and  lifeless,  who 
but  two  minutes  ago  exhibited  such  rapid 
and  lively  motions !  His  pretty  hens  too, 
all  dispersed  in  terror,  and  deprived  of  the 
possibility  of  ever  more  admiring  him,  or  be- 
ing his  companions  !  " 

Fritz  looked  down,  ashamed  and  sorry.  I 
observed  to  him,  the  thing  being  done,  there 
was  now  no  remedy;  that  the  fetras,  or 
heath-cock,   was  much   esteemed   as  game; 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  389 

and  that  he  had  better  take  it  from  the 
ground,  and  carry  it  to  his  mother. 

We  now  laid  the  dead  cock  upon  the  ass's 
back,  and  proceeded  on  our  journey.  We 
soon  arrived  at  the  guava  trees,  and  a  little 
after  at  the  spot  where  we  had  left  the  sledge, 
when  we  found  our  treasures  in  the  best  pos- 
sible condition :  but  as  the  morning  was  not 
far  advanced,  we  entered  upon  our  intended 
project  of  penetrating  beyond  the  wall  of 
rocks. 

We  pursued  our  way  in  a  straight  line 
at  the  foot  of  these  massy,  solid  produc- 
tions of  nature,  every  moment  expecting  to 
reach  their  extremity,  or  to  find  some  turn, 
or  breach,  or  passage  through  them,  that 
should  conduct  us  into  the  interior  of  the 
island,  if,  as  I  presumed,  it  was  not  termin- 
ated by  these  rocks.  We  walked  on,  con- 
tinually looking  about,  that  nothing  might 
escape  us  worthy  of  notice,  and  to  anticipate 
and  avoid  such  dangers  as  should  threaten. 
Turk,  with  his  usual  bravery,  took  the  lead, 
the  ass  followed  with  lazy  steps,  shaking  his 
long  ears,  and  Fritz  and  I  brought  up  the  rear. 

We  next  entered  a  pretty  little  grove,  the 


390  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

trees  of  which  were  unknown  to  us.  TK<m 
branches  were  loaded  with  large  quantitiek 
of  berries  of  an  extraordinary  quality,  being 
entirely  covered  with  a  wax  which  stuck  to 
our  fingers  as  we  attempted  to  gather  them. 
I  knew  of  a  sort  of  bush  producing  wax  that 
grows  in  America,  and  named  by  botanists 
Myrica  cerifera ;  I  had  no  doubt  that  this 
was  the  plant,  and  the  discovery  gave  me 
great  pleasure.  "Let  us  stop  here,"  said  I 
to  Fritz,  "for  we  cannot  do  better  than  col- 
lect a  great  quantity  of  these  berries  as  a 
useful  present  to  your  mother." 

A  short  time  after,  another  object  pre- 
sented itself  with  equal  claims  to  our  atten- 
tention ;  it  was  the  singular  modes  of  behav- 
ior of  a  kind  of.  bird  scarcely  larger  than  a 
chaffinch,  and  clothed  in  feathers  of  a  com- 
mon brown  color.  These  birds  appeared  to 
exist  as  a  republic,  there  being  among  them 
one  common  nest,  inhabited  at  pleasure  by 
all  their  tribes.  We  saw  one  of  these  nests 
in  a  tree,  in  a  somewhat  retired  situation ;  it 
was  formed  of  plaited  straws  and  bulrushes 
intermixed ;  it  inclosed  great  numbers  of  in- 
habitants, and  was  built  round  the  trunk  of 


THE  SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  391 

the  tree:  it  had  a  kind  of  roof  formed  of 
roots  and  bulrushes,  carefully  knit  together. 
We  observed  in  the  sides  small  apertures, 
seemingly  intended   as   doors    and  windows 
to  each  particular  cell  of  this  general  recep- 
tacle ;  from  a  few  of  these  apertures  issued 
some  small  branches,  which  served  the  birds 
as  points  of  rest  for  entering  and  returning  : 
the  external  appearance  of  the  whole,  excited 
the  image  of  an  immensely  large  open  sponge. 
The  inhabitants  were  very  numerous ;    they 
passed  in  and  out  continually,  and  I  esti- 
mated that  it  might  contain  at  least  a  mil- 
lion.    The  males  were  somewhat  larger  than 
the  females,  and  there  was  a  trifling  differ- 
ence in  their  plumage :    the  number  of  the 
males  was  very  small  in  proportion  to  the 
females :    I  do  not  know  whether  this  had 
been  the  cause  of  their  thus  assembling  to- 
gether. 

While  we  were  attentively  examining  this 
interesting  little  colony,  we  perceived  a  very 
small  kind  of  parrot  hovering  about  the  nest. 
Their  gilded  green  wings,  and  the  variety  of 
their  colors,  produced  a  beautiful  effect ;  they 
seemed  to  be  perpetually  disputing  with  the 


392  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

colonists,  and  not  unfrequently  endeavoured 
to  prevent  their  entrance  into  the  building ; 
they  attacked  them  fiercely,  and  even  tried  to 
peck  at  us,  if  we  but  advanced  our  hand  to 
the  structure.  Fritz,  who  was  well  trained 
in  the  art  of  climbing  trees,  was  earnestly 
desirous  to  take  a  nearer  view  of  them,  and 
to  secure,  if  possible,  a  few  individuals.  He 
threw  his  burden  down,  and  climbed  to  the 
nest ;  he  then  tried  to  introduce  his  hand  into 
one  of  the  apertures,  and  to  seize  whatever 
living  creature  it  should  touch  in  that  partic- 
ular cell ;  what  he  most  desired,  was  to  find 
a  female  brooding,  and  to  carry  both  her  and 
the  eggs  away.  Several  of  the  cells  were 
empty,  but  by  perseverance  he  found  one  in 
the  situation  he  wished ;  but  he  received  so 
violent  a  peck  from  an  invisible  bird,  that  his 
only  care  was  now  to  withdraw  his  hand; 
presently,  however,  he  ventured  a  second  time 
to  pass  his  hand  into  the  nest,  and  succeeded 
in  seizing  his  prey,  which  he  laid  hold  of,  and, 
in  spite  of  the  bird's  resistance,  he  drew  it 
through  the  aperture,  and  squeezed  it  into 
the  pocket  of  his  waistcoat;  and  buttoning 
it  securely,  he   slided   down   the    tree,  and 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  393 

reached  the  ground  in  safety.  The  signals 
of  distress  sent  forth  by  the  prisoner  col- 
lected a  multitude  of  birds  from  their  cells, 
■who  all  surrounded  him,  uttering  loud  cries, 
and  attacking  him  with  their  beaks,  till 
he  had  made  good  his  retreat.  He  now  re- 
leased the  prisoner,  and  we  discovered  him  to 
be  a  beautiful  little  green  parrot,  which  Fritz 
entreated  he  might  be  allowed  to  preserve, 
and  make  a  present  of  to  his  brothers,  who 
would  make  a  cage  to  keep  him  in,  and  would 
then  tame  him  and  teach  him  to  speak. 

On  the  road  home,  we  observed  to  each 
other,  that  from  the  circumstance  of  this 
young  nestling  within  the  structure,  it  ap- 
peared probable  that  the  true  right  of  prop- 
erty was  in  this  species,  and  that  the  brown- 
colored  birds  wTe  at  first  observed,  were  in- 
truders, endeavoring  to  deprive  them  of  it. 
"  Thus  we  find,"  said  I  to  Fritz,  "  the  exist- 
ence of  social  dispositions  in  almost  every 
class  of  the  animal  kingdom,  which  leads  to 
the  combining  together  for  a  common  cause 
or  benefit.  A  multitude  of  causes  may  in- 
duce animals  to  form  a  body  or  society,  in- 
stead of  living  singly :  among  them  may  be 


894  THE   SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

supposed  the  deficiency  of  females  or  of 
males ;  the  charge  of  the  young ;  providing 
them  with  food;  or  as  a  means  for  their 
safety  and  protection.  Who  shall  dare  to  fix 
limits  to  the  instinct  or  to  the  faculties  of  the 
animal  creation  ?  " 

Fritz. — I  do  not,  however,  recollect  any 
kind  of  animals  who  live  thus  together  in  so- 
ciety, except  the  bees. 

Father.  —  What  say  you  then  to  wasps, 
drones,  and  different  kinds  of  ants  ? 

Fritz.  —  I  did  not  indeed  recollect  the  ants, 
though  I  have  so  often  amused  myself  with 
looking  at  them :  nothing  can  be  more  inter- 
esting than  the  -ingenious  little  houses  they 
construct;  observing  them  attentively,  we 
perceive  their  industry,  their  economy,  their 
care  of  their  young,  in  a  word,  all  their  un- 
dertakings, conducted  on  a  plan  of  society 
and  numbers. 

Father. — Have  you  also  observed  with  what 
a  provident  kind  of  instinct  they  bring  out 
their  eggs  to  be  warmed  by  the  sun,  and  for 
this  end  remove  them  from  place  to  place  till 
the  time  of  their  maturity? 

Fritz.  —  Is  it  not  probable,  father,  that 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  395 

what  we  take  for  eggs,  are  chrysales  of  ants, 
which,  like  many  other  insects,  are  thus  shut 
up  while  the  process  of  their  taking  wings  is 
in  the  operation  ? 

Father.  —  You  may  be  right.  Writers  on 
natural  history  have  considered  the  industry 
and  frugality  of  these  insects,  as  a  subject 
not  unworthy  of  their  consideration ;  but  if 
the  common  ant  of  our  own  country  excited 
so  much  of  your  admiration,  what  will  be 
your  astonishment  at  the  labors  performed  by 
the  ants  of  other  regions  !  There  is  a  kind 
which  build  nests  of  four,  six,  and  eight  feet 
in  height,  and  large  in  proportion :  the  ex- 
ternal walls  of  these  structures  are  so  thick 
and  solid,  that  neither  sun  nor  rain  can  pen- 
etrate them.  They  are  houses  which  contain 
within,  little  streets,  arched  roofs,  piazzas, 
colonades,  and  particular  apartments  for  the 
offices  of  housewifery.  The  ant  is  an  animal 
of  pilfering  propensities,  on  the  profits  of 
which  it  principally  lives ;  it  is  also  remark- 
able for  constancy  in  its  designs,  and  remain- 
ing ever  in  one  place :  a  species  of  them  ex- 
ists, however,  in  America,  which  is  known  by 
the  name  of  the  cephalate,  or  visiting  ant ; 


39$  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

they  make  their  appearance  in  numerous 
troops  every  two  or  three  years,  and  disperse 
themselves  in  every  house ;  as  soon  as  their 
visit  is  observed,  it  is  customary  to  open  all 
the  apartments  and  receptacles  for  stores ; 
they  enter  every  where,  and  in  a  short  time 
it  is  found  that  they  have  exterminated  as 
effectually  the  rats,  mice,  bugs,  kakerles  (a 
sort  of  insect  that  gives  great  annoyance  in 
hot  countries); — in  a  word,  all  the  different 
animals  offensive  or  injurious  to  man,  as  if 
sent  on  a  special  mission  to  remedy  the  evils 
these  occasion.  They  do  no  injury  to  man, 
unless  they  find  in  him  an  enemy,  who  pur- 
sues and  disturbs  their  quiet ;  in  which  case 
they  attack  his  shoes  so  violently,  that  they 
are  destroyed  with  incredible  rapidity.  This 
curious  species  does  not  build  its  house  above 
ground,  but  digs  holes,  sometimes  not  less  than 
eight  feet  in  depth,  and  plaster  the  walls  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  of  the  art  of  masonry. 

Fritz.  —  You  mentioned  just  now,  that  in 
each  class  of  the  animal  creation  there  were 
some  individuals  which  formed  themselves 
into  societies;  pray  tell  me  which  they  are? 

Father.  —  I  know  of  no  instance  among 


THE    SWISS    1?A5„LY  EOBINSO.V.  397 

bWs,  but  that  we  have  just  been  witnessing; 

st  k  rg  qua  fupeds  there  is  at  ^  i 

striking  example  of  the  social  principle.— 

try  to  recollect  it  yourself. 

sea^trItiSPerhaPSthee,ePhant-^ 
Father.  -Neither  is  the  one  I  thought  of  • 

he  annals  you  have  named  diseover°a,so  a 
strong  disposition  to  live  i„  societv  with  their 

house  of  reception: -try  again. 

-Fritz :._Ah,  is  it  not  the  beaver,  father? 
1^  not  true,  that  these  animals  possess  n 
-te.hgence,  that  enables  them  to  contrive 

obstruct  their  des.gn  of  building  entire  vil 
ages ,  and  that  by  this  operath «  th^y  a  e" 
femshed  Wlth  a  sort  of  ditch,  which  they  „e 
tor  their  purposes  ?  y 

spe^Tt?^"6^6^^^^^ 
speaking,  the  marmoset  also  may  be  included 

^  the  number  of  sociable  quaLpeds     f  " 

Hey    ,g  themselves  a  commolplace'ofahod 
a  sort  of  cavern,  m  the  mountains,  and  in 

t^b  efemi'ieSOfth-P-th;wintr 
comfoitably,  m  a  continual  sleep. 


398  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

We  reached  a  wood,  the  trees  of.  which  in 
a  small  degree  resembled  the  wild  fig-tree ; 
at  least  the  fruit  they  bore,  like  the  fig,  was 
round  in  form,  and  contained  a  soft  juicy 
substance,  full  of  small  grains.  Their  height 
was  from  forty  to  sixty  feet :  the  bark  of  the 
trunk  was  scaly,  like  the  pine-apple,  and 
wholly  bare  of  branches,  except  at  the  very 
top. 

The  leaves  of  these  trees  are  very  thick ; 
in  substance,  tough,  like  leather;  and  their 
upper  and  under  surfaces  are  different  in 
color.  But  what  surprised  us  the  most,  was 
a  kind  of  gum,  which  issued  in  a  liquid  state 
from  the  trunk  of  the  tree,  and  became  im- 
mediately hardened  by  the  air.  This  discov- 
ery awakened  Fritz's  attention :  in  Europe 
he  had  often  made  use  of  the  gum  produced 
by  cherry-trees,  either  as  a  cement  or  varnish, 
in  his  youthful  occupations ;  and  the  thought 
struck  him,  that  he  could  do  the  same  with 
what  he  now  saw. 

As  we^-walked,  he  looked  frequently  at  his 
gum,  which  he  tried  to  soften  with  his  breath, 
but  without  success:  he  now  discovered  a 
still  more  singular  property  in  the  substance ; 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  399 

that  of  stretching  on  being  pulled  at  the  ex- 
tremities ;  and,  on  letting  go,  of  reducing 
itself  instantly,  by  the  power  of  an  elastic 
principle.  He  was  struck  with  surprise,  and 
sprang  towards  me,  repeating  the  experiment 
before  my  eyes,  and  exclaiming,  "  Look,  fa- 
ther !  if  this  is  not  the  very  thing  we  form- 
erly used,  to  rub  out  bad  strokes  in  our  draw- 
ings." 

"  Ah  !  what  do  you  tell  me?"  cried  I  with 
joy :  "  such  a  discovery  would  be  valuable 
indeed.  The  best  thanks  of  all  will  be  due 
to  you,  if  it  is  the  true  caoutchouc  tree  which 
yields  the  Indian  rubber.  Quick,  hand  it 
here,  that  I  may  examine  it."  —  Having  sat- 
isfied myself  of  our  good  fortune,  I  had  now 
to  explain,  that  caoutchouc  is  a  kind  of  milky 
sap,  which  runs  from  its  tree,  in  consequence 
of  incisions  made  in  the  bark.  "  This  liquor 
is  received  in  vessels  placed  expressly  for  the 
purpose :  it  is  afterwards  made  to  take  the 
form  of  dark-colored  bottles,  of  different  sizes, 
such  as  we  have  seen  them,  in  the  following 
manner.  Before  the  liquor  has  time  to  co- 
agulate, some  small  earthen  bottles  are  dipped 
into  it  a  sufficient  number  of  times  to  form 

27 


400  THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

the  thickness  required.  These  vessels  are 
then  hung  over  smoke,  which  completely 
dries  them,  and  gives  them  a  dark  color. 
Before  they  are  entirely  dry,  a  knife  is  drawn 
across  them,  which  produces  the  lines  or  fig- 
ures with  which  you  have  seen  them  marked. 
The  concluding  part  of  the  operation  is  to 
break  the  mould,  and  to  get  out  the  pieces 
by  the  passage  of  the  neck,  when  there  re- 
mains the  complete  form  of  a  bottle." 

Fritz.  —  This  process  seems  simple  enough, 
and  we  will  make  some  bottles  of  it  for  car- 
rying liquids,  when  we  go  far  in  pursuit  of 
game.  But  still  I  do  not  perceive  how  the 
discovery  is  of  so  much  value  to  us  ? 

Father.  —  Not  by  this  use  of  it  alone,  cer- 
tainly ;  but  its  quality  is  excellent  for  being 
made  into  shoes  and  boots  without  seams,  if 
we  can  add  the  assistance  of  earthen  moulds 
of  the  size  of  the  leg  or  foot  to  be  fitted.  We 
must  consider  of  some  means  of  restoring 
masses  of  the  caoutchouc  to  its  liquid  form, 
for  spreading  upon  the  moulds;  and  if  we 
should  not  succeed,  we  must  endeavor  to 
draw  it  in  sufficient  quantities,  in  its  liquid 
state,  from  the  trees  themselves. 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  401 

We  continued  our  way  till  we  reached  an- 
other wood,  the  skirts  of  which  we  had  al- 
ready seen,  it  being  the  same  which  stretches 
from  the  sea  shore  to  the  top  of  the  rocks. 
In  this  spot  alone,  and  mixed  with  a  quantity 
of  cocoa-trees,  I  discovered  a  sort  of  tree  of 
smaller  growth,  which  I  presumed  must  be 
the  sago  palm  :  one  of  these  had  been  thrown 
down  by  the  wind,  so  that  I  was  able  to  ex- 
amine it  thoroughly.  I  perceived  that  the 
trunk  of  it  contained  a  large  quantity  of  a 
mealy  substance ;  I  therefore,  with  my 
hatchet,  laid  it  open  longways  and  cleared  it 
of  the  whole  contents  ;  and  I  found  on  tast- 
ing, it  was  exactly  like  the  sago  I  had  often 
eaten  in  Europe.  We  now  began  to  consider 
how  much  further  we  would  go :  the  thick 
bushes  of  bamboo,  through  which  it  was  im- 
possible to  pass,  seemed  to  furnish  a  natural 
conclusion  to  our  journey.  We  were  there- 
fore unable  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  we 
should  have  found  a  passage  beyond  the  wall 
of  rocks :  we  perceived  then  no  better  re- 
source than  to  turn  to  the  left  towards  Cape 
Disappointment,  wrhere  the  luxurious  planta- 
tions of  sugar-canes  now  again  drew  our  at- 


402  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

tention.  That  we  might  not  return  empty- 
handed  to  Falcon's  Stream,  and  might  de- 
serve forgiveness  for  so  long  an  absence,  we 
each  took  the  pains  to  cut  a  large  bundle  of 
the  canes,  which  we  threw  across  the  ass's 
back,  not  forgetting  the  ceremony  of  reserv- 
ing one  apiece  to  refresh  ourselves  with  along 
the  road.  We  soon  arrived  on  the  well-known 
shore  of  the  sea,  which  at  length  afforded  an 
open  and  a  shorter  path ;  we  next  reached 
the  wood  of  gourds,  where  we  found  our 
sledge  loaded  as  we  had  left  it  the  night  be- 
fore ;  we  took  the  sugar-canes  from  the  ass, 
and  fastened  them  to  the  sledge,  and  then  we 
harnessed  the  ass,  and  the  patient  animal  be- 
gan to  draw  towards  home. 

We  arrived  at  Falcon's  Stream  without 
any  further  adventure.  We  received  at  first 
some  kind  reproofs :  we  were  next  questioned, 
and  lastly  thanked,  as  we  displayed  our  vari- 
rious  treasures,  but  particularly  the  sugar- 
canes :  each  of  the  boys  seized  one  and  began 
to  suck  it,  as  did  their  mother  also.  Nothing 
could  be  more  amusing  than  to  hear  Fritz 
relate,  with  unaffected  interest,  our  new  dis- 
coveries, and  to  see  him  imitate  the  gestures 


THE  PARROT. 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  403 

of  the  heath-cock,  as  he  held  it  up  for  exam- 
ination:—  his  hearers  continued  to  shout 
with  laughter  for  many  minutes.  Then  came 
the  history  of  the  colony  of  birds  and  their 
singular  habitation,  and  of  the  green  parrot, 
all  of  which  was  listened  to  with  the  delight 
excited  by  a  fairy  tale.  Fritz  showed  them 
the  handsome  red  parrot  dead,  also  the  great 
blue  jay,  both  of  which  they  did  not  cease  to 
admire ;  but  when  he  took  out  of  his  pocket 
the  little  green  parrot  all  alive,  there  were  no 
bounds  to  their  ecstacy :  they  jumped  about 
like  mad  things,  and  I  was  obliged  to  inter- 
pose my  authority  to  prevent  their  tearing 
him  to  pieces,  in  the  struggle  who  should 
have  him  first.  Francis  nearly  devoured  the 
little  animal  with  kisses,  repeating  a  thousand 
times  pretty  little  parrot !  At  length  the 
bird  was  fastened  by  the  leg  to  one  of  the 
roots  of  the  trees  till  a  cage  could  be  made 
for  him ;  and  was  fed  with  acorns,  which  he 
appeared  exceedingly  to  relish.  "We  next 
gave  an  account  of  the  prospect  I  now  had 
of  furnishing  not  only  candles,  but  boots  and 
shoes.  Fritz  took  a  bit  of  the  rubber  from 
his  pocket  and  drew  it  to  its  full  length,  and 


404  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

then  let  it  go  suddenly,  to  the  great  amuse- 
ment of  little  Francis. 

Soon  after  night-fall,  we  partook  of  a 
hearty  meal :  being  much  fatigued,  we  went 
earlier  than  usual  to  rest,  and  having  care- 
fully drawn  up  the  ladder,  we  fell  exhausted, 
into  sound  and  peaceful  slumbers. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

I    Useful  Occupations  and  Labors.  —  Embellish- 
ments; a  painful  but  natural  Sentiment. 

On  the  following  day,  my  wife  and  the  boys 
importuned  me  to  begin  my  manufactory  of 
candles :  I  therefore  set  myself  to  recollect 
all  I  had  read  on  the  subject.  I  soon  per- 
ceived that  I  should  be  at  a  loss  for  a  little 
fat  to  mix  with  the  wax  I  had  procured  from 
the  berries,  for  making  the  light  burn  clearer  ; 
but  I  was  compelled  to  proceed  without.  I 
put  as  many  berries  into  a  vessel  as  it  would 
contain,  and  set  it  on  a  moderate  fire ;  my 
wife  in  the  meantime  employed  herself  in 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  405 

making  some  wicks  with  the  threads  of  sail- 
cloth. When  we  saw  an  oily  matter  of  a 
pleasing  smell  and  light  green  color,  rise  to 
the  top  of  the  liquid  the  berries  had  yielded, 
we  carefully  skimmed  it  off  and  put  it  into  a 
separate  vessel,  taking  care  to  keep  it  warm. 
We  continued  this  process  till  the  berries  were 
exhausted,  and  had  produced  a  considerable 
quantity  of  wax  :  we  next  dipped  the  wicks 
one  by  one  into  it,  while  it  remained  liquid, 
and  then  hung  them  on  the  bushes  to  harden : 
in  a  short  time  we  dipped  them  again,  and  re- 
peated the  operation,  till  the  candles  were  in- 
creased to  the  proper  size,  and  they  were  then 
put  in  a  place  and  kept,  till  sufficiently  hard- 
ened for  use.  We,  however,  were  all  eager 
to  judge  of  our  success  that  very  evening,  by 
burning  one  of  the  candles,  with  which  we 
were  well  satisfied.  In  consequence  of  this 
new  treasure,  we  should  now  be  able  to  sit  up 
later,  and  consequently  spend  less  of  our  time 
in  sleep ;  but  independently  of  this  advan- 
tage, the  mere  sight  of  a  candle,  which  for  so 
long  a  time  we  had  been  deprived  of,  caused 
ecstasies  of  joy  to  all. 

Our  success  in  this  last  enterprise,  encour- 


406  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

aged  us  to  think  of  another,  the  idea  of  which 
had  long  been  cherished  by  our  kind  steward 
of  provisions ;  it  was  to  make  fresh  butter  of 
the  cream  we  every  day  skimmed  from  the 
milk,  and  which  was  frequently,  to  her  great 
vexation,  spoiled,  and  given  to  the  animals. 
The  utensil  we  stood  in  need  of,  was  a  churn, 
to  turn  the  cream  in.  Having  earnestly  ap- 
plied my  thoughts,  as  to  the  best  manner  of 
conquering  the  difficulty,  I  suddenly  recol- 
lected what  I  had  heard  read  in  a  book  of 
travels,  of  the  method  used  by  the  Hotten- 
tots for  making  butter;  but  instead  of  a 
sheep-skin  sewed  together  at  its  extremities, 
I  emptied  a  large  gourd,  washed  it  clean, 
filled  it  again  with  cream,  and  stopped  it 
close  with  the  piece  I  had  cut  from  the  top. 
I  placed  my  vase  of  cream  on  a  piece  of  sail- 
cloth with  four  corners,  and  tied  to  each  cor- 
ner a  stake :  I  placed  one  boy  midway  be- 
tween each  stake,  and  directed  them  to  shake 
the  cloth  briskly,  but  with  a  steady  measure, 
for  a  certain  time.  This  exercise,  which 
seemed  like  children's  play,  pleased  them 
mightily,  and  they  called  it  rocking  the  cra- 
dle.    They  performed  their  office  singing  and 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  407 

laughing  all  the  time,  and  in  an  hour,  on  tak- 
ing off  the  cover,  we  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  some  excellent  butter.  We  heartily 
congratulated  each  other,  and  praised  the 
workmen,  who,  by  their  constancy  of  labor, 
had  thus  produced  a  most  agreeable  article 
of  food.  I  had  now  to  propose  to  my  sons  a 
work  of  a  more  difficult  nature  than  we  had 
hitherto  accomplished ;  it  was  the  construct- 
ing a  cart,  in  all  its  forms,  for  the  better  con- 
veyance of  our  effects  from  place  to  place,  in- 
stead of  the  sledge,  which  caused  us  so  much 
fatigue  to  load  and  draw.  Many  reasons  in- 
duced me  to  confine  my  attempt  in  the  first 
instance  to  a  two- wheel  cart,  and  to  observe 
the  result  before  I  ventured  on  one  with  four 
wheels.  I  tried  earnestly  and  long  to  ac- 
complish such  a  machine ;  but  it  did  not  en- 
tirely succeed  to  my  wishes,  and  I  wasted  in 
the  attempt  both  time  and  timber ;  I  however 
produced  what  from  courtesy  we  called  a  cart, 
and  it  answered  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
designed. 

When  I  had  no  occasion  for  the  boys,  they 
with  their  mother  engaged  in  other  useful 
matters.     They  undertook  to  transplant  the 


408  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

European  fruit-trees,  to  place  them  where 
they  would  be  in  a  better  situation  for 
growth,  according  to  the  properties  of  each. 
They  planted  vine  shoots  round  the  roots  of 
the  magnificent  tree  we  inhabited, 'and  round 
the  trunks  of  some  other  kinds  of  trees  which 
grew  near ;  and  we  watched  them,  in  the 
fond  anticipation  that  they  would  in  time  as- 
cend to  a  height  capable  of  being  formed  into 
a  sort  of  trellis,  and  help  to  cool  us  by  their 
shade.  Lastly,  we  planted  two  parallel  lines 
of  saplings,  consisting  of  chestnut,  cherry, 
and  the  common  nut-trees,  to  form  an  avenue 
from  Family  Bridge  to  Falcon's  Stream, 
which  would  hereafter  afford  us  a  shaded 
walk  to  Tent-House.  This  last  undertaking 
was  not  to  be  effected  without  a  degree  of 
labor  and  fatigue  the  most  discouraging :  — 
the  ground  was  to  be  cleared  of  every  thing 
it  had  produced,  and  a  certain  breadth  cov- 
ered with  sand,  left  higher  in  the  middle  than 
on  the  sides  for  the  sake  of  being  always  dry. 
The  boys  fetched  the  sand  from  the  sea-side 
in  their  wheelbarrows. 

Our  next  concern  was  to  introduce,  if  pos- 
sible, some  shade  and  other  improvements  on 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  409 

the  barren  site  of  Tent-House,  and  to  render 
our  occasional  abode  or  visits  there  more  se- 
cure. "We  began  by  planting  in  a  quincunx 
all  those  sorts  of  trees  that  thrive  best  in  the 
sun,  such  as  lemon,  pistachio,  almond,  mul- 
berry, and  lime-trees  ;  lastly,  some  of  a  kind 
of  orange-tree,  which  attains  to  a  prodigious 
size,  and  bears  a  fruit  as  large  as  the  head 
of  a  child.  The  commoner  sort  of  nut-trees 
we  placed  along  the  shore.  The  better  to 
conceal  and  fortify  our  tent,  which  inclosed 
all  our  stores,  we  formed  on  the  accessible 
side,  a  hedge  of  wild  orange  and  lemon-trees, 
which  produce  an  abundant  prickly  foliage ; 
and  to  add  to  the  agreeableness  of  their  ap- 
pearance, we  here  and  there  interspersed  the 
pomegranate ;  nor  did  I  omit  to  make  a  little 
arbor  of  the  guava  shrub,  which  is  easily 
raised  from  slips,  and  bears  a  small  fruit 
rather  pleasant  to  the  taste.  "We  also  took 
care  to  introduce  at  proper  places  a  certain 
number  of  the  largest  sorts  of  trees,  which  in 
time  would  serve  the  double  purpose  of  shad- 
ing annual  plants,  and,  with  benches  placed 
under  them,  of  a  kind  of  private  cabinet. 
Should  any  accident  or  alarm  compel  us  to 


410  THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

retire  to  the  fortress  of  Tent-House,  a  thing 
of  the  first  importance  would  be  to  find  there 
sufficient  food  for  our  cattle.  For  the  greater 
security,  I  formed  a  plantation  of  the  thorny 
fig-tree,  of  sufficient  breadth  to  occupy  the 
space  between  our  fortress  and  the  river,  thus 
rendering  it  difficult  for  an  enemy  to  ap- 
proach. 

The  curving  form  of  the  river  having  left 
some  partial  elevations  of  the  soil  within  the 
inclosure,  I  found  means  to  work  them  into 
slopes  and  angles,  so  as  to  serve  as  bastions 
to  our  two  cannon  from  the  pinnace,  and  our 
other  fire  arms,  should  we  ever  be  attacked 
by  savages.  When  this  was  all  complete,  we 
perceived  that  one  thing  more  was  wanting, 
which  was  to  make  such  alterations  in  Family 
Bridge  as  would  enable  us  to  use  it  as  a  draw- 
bridge, or  to  take  it  away  entirely,  this  being 
the  only  point  at  which  the  passage  of  the 
river  could  be  easily  affected.  But  as  we 
could  not  do  all  at  once,  we  contented  our- 
selves, for  present  safety,  with  taking  away 
the  first  planks  of  the  bridge  at  each  and 
every  time  we  passed  it.  My  concluding  la- 
bor was  to  plant  some  cedars  along  the  usual 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  411 

landing  places,  to  which  we  might  fasten  our 
vessels. 

"We  employed  six  whole  weeks  in  effecting 
these  laborious  arrangements ;  but  the  exer- 
cise of  mind  and  body  they  imposed,  contrib- 
uted to  the  physical  and  moral  health  of  the 
boys,  and  to  the  support  of  cheerfulness  and 
serenity  in  ourselves.  The  more  we  embel- 
lished our  abode  by  the  work  of  our  own 
hands,  the  more  it  became  dear  to  our  hearts. 
The  constant  and  strict  observance  of  the 
Sabbath-day  afforded  such  an  interval  of  rest 
as  could  not  fail  to  restore  our  strength,  and 
inspire  us  with  the  desire  of  new  exertions. 
The  sentiment  of  gratitude  which  filled  our 
minds  towards  the  Supreme  Being,  who  had 
saved  us  from  destruction,  and  supplied  us 
with  all  things  needful,  demanded  utterance, 
and  on  Sundays  we  might  allow  ourselves  the 
indulgence  of  pouring  out  our  hearts  in  thank- 
fulness. 

By  this  time  we  had  nearly  exhausted  our 
stock  of  clothes,  and  we  were  compelled  once 
more  to  have  recourse  to  the  vessel,  which 
we  knew  still  contained  some  chests  fit  for 
our  use.    To  this  motive  we  added  an  earnest 


412  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

desire  to  take  another  look  at  her,  and,  if 
practicable,  to  bring  away  a  few  pieces  of 
cannon,  which  might  be  fixed  on  the  new 
bastions  at  Tent-House,  and  thus  we  should 
be  prepared  for  the  worst. 

The  first  fine  day  I  assembled  my  three 
eldest  sons,  and  put  my  design  into  execu- 
tion. We  reached  the  wreck  without  any 
striking  adventure,  and  found  her  still  fixed 
between  the  rocks,  but  somewhat  more  shat- 
tered than  when  we  had  last  seen  her.  We 
secured  the  chests  of  clothes,  and  whatever 
remained  of  ammunition  stores  :  powder,  shot, 
and  even  such  pieces  of  cannon  as  we  could 
remove,  while  those  that  were  too  heavy  we 
stripped  of  their  wheels,  which  might  be  ex- 
tremely useful. 

But  to  effect  our  purpose,  it  was  necessary 
to  spend  several  days  in  visits  to  the  vessel, 
returning  constantly  in  the  evening,  enriched 
with  every  thing  of  a  portable  nature  which 
the  wreck  contained ;  doors,  windows,  locks, 
bolts,  nothing  escaped  our  grasp  :  so  that  the 
ship  was  now  entirely  emptied,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  large  cannon,  and  three  or  four 
immense  copper  caldrons.     We  by  degrees 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  413 

contrived  to  tie  the  heaviest  articles  to  two 
or  three  empty  casks  well  pitched,  which 
would  thus  be  sustained  above  water.  I  sup* 
posed  that  the  wind  and  tide  would  convey 
the  beams  and  timbers  ashore,  and  thus  with 
little  pains  we  should  be  possessed  of  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  materials  for  erecting  a 
building  at  some  future  time.  When  these 
measures  were  taken,  I  came  to  the  resolu- 
tion of  blowing  up  the  wreck,  by  a  process 
similar  to  that  with  which  I  had  so  well  sue- 
ceeded  with  the  pinnace.  We  accordingly 
prepared  a  cask  of  gunpowder,  which  we  left 
on  board  for  the  purpose  :  we  rolled  it  to  the 
place  most  favorable  for  our  views :  we  made 
a  small  opening  in  its  side,  and  at  the  mo- 
ment of  quitting  the  vessel,  we  inserted  a 
piece  of  matchwood  which  we  lighted  at  the 
last  moment,  as  before.  We  then  sailed  with 
all  possible  expedition  for  Safety  Bay,  where 
we  arrived  in  a  short  time.  We  could  not, 
however,  withdraw  our  thoughts  from  the 
wreck,  and  from  the  expected  explosion,  for  a 
single  moment.  I  had  cut  the  match  a  suffi- 
cient length  for  us  to  hope  that  she  would 
not  go  to  pieces  before  dark.     I  proposed  to 

28 


414  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

my  wife  to  have  our  supper  carried  to  a  little 
point  of  land  from  whence  we  had  a  view  of 
her,  and  here  we  waited  for  the  moment  of 
her  destruction  with  lively  impatience. 

About  the  time  of  night-fall,  a  majestic 
rolling  sound  like  thunder,  accompanied  by 
a  column  of  fire  and  smoke,  announced  that 
the  ship,  so  awfully  concerned  with  our  pe- 
culiar destiny,  which  had  brought  us  to  our 
present  abode  in  a  desert,  and  furnished  us 
there  with  such  vast  supplies  for  general  com- 
fort, was  that  instant  annihilated,  and  with- 
drawn forever  from  the  face  of  man  !  —  At 
this  moment,  love  for  the  country  that  gave 
us  birth,  that  most  powerful  sentiment  of  the 
human  heart,  sunk  with  a  new  force  into  ours. 
The  ship  had  disappeared  forever !  Could 
we  then  form  a  hope  ever  to  behold  that 
country  more  ?  We  had  made  a  sort  of  ju- 
bilee of  witnessing  the  spectacle :  the  boys 
had  clapped  their  hands  and  skipped  about 
in  joyful  expectation;  but  the  noise  was 
heard; — the  smoke  and  sparks  were  seen! 
—  while  the  sudden  change  which  took  place 
in  our  minds  could  be  compared  only  to  the 
rapidity   of  these   effects  of  our  concerted 


THE    SWISS     FAMILY   ROBINSON.  415 

scheme  against  the  vessel.  "We  all  observed 
a  mournful  silence,  and  all  rose  as  it  were, 
by  an  impulse  of  mutual  condemnation,  and 
with  our  heads  sinking  on  our  bosoms,  and 
our  eyes  cast  upon  the  ground,  we  took  the 
road  to  Tent-House. 

My  wife  was  the  only  person  who  was  sen- 
sible of  motives  for  consolation  in  the  dis- 
tressing scene  which  had  been  passing ;  she 
was  now  relieved  from  all  the  cruel  fears  for 
our  safety  in  our  visits  to  a  shattered  wreck, 
that  was  liable  to  fall  to  pieces  during  the 
time  we  were  on  board.  From  this  moment 
she  conceived  a  stronger  partiality  for  our 
island,  and  the  modes  of  life  we  had  adopted. 

A  night's  repose  had  in  some  measure  re- 
lieved the  melancholy  of  the  preceding  even- 
ing, and  I  went  rather  early  in  the  morning 
with  the  boys,  to  make  further  observations 
as  to  the  effects  of  this  remarkable  event.  We 
perceived  in  the  water,  and  along  the  shore, 
abundant  vestiges  of  the  departed  wreck ; 
and  amongst  the  rest,  at  a  certain  distance, 
the  empty  casks,  caldrons,  and  cannon,  all 
tied  together,  and  floating  in  a  large  mass 
upon  the  water.     We  jumped  instantly  into 


416  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

the  pinnace,  with  the  tub-boat  fastened  to 
it,  and  made  a  way  towards  them  through 
the  numberless  pieces  of  timber,  &c.  that  in- 
tervened, and  in  a  little  time  reached  the 
object  of  our  search,  which  from  its  great 
weight  moved  slowly  upon  the  waves.  Fritz, 
with  his  accustomed  readiness,  flung  some 
rope  round  two  four-pounders,  and  contrived 
to  fasten  them  to  our  barge ;  after  which  he 
secured  also  an  enormous  quantity  of  poles, 
laths,  and  other  useful  articles.  With  this 
rich  booty  we  returned  to  land. 

We  performed  three  more  trips  for  the  pur- 
pose of  bringing  away  more  cannon,  caldrons, 
fragments  of  masts,  &c,  all  of  which  we  de- 
posited for  present  convenience  in  Safety 
Bay :  and  now  began  our  most  fatiguing  op- 
erations, —  the  removing  such  numerous  and 
heavy  stores  from  the  boats  to  Tent-House.* 
We  separated  the  cannon  and  the  caldrons 
from  the  tub-raft,  and  from  each  other,  and 
left  them  in  a  place  which  was  accessible  for 
the  sledge  and  the  beasts  of  burden.  With 
the  help  of  the  crow  we  succeeded  in  getting 
the  caldrons  upon  the  sledge,  and  in  replac- 
ing the  four  wheels  we  had  before  taken  from 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  41/ 

the  cannon  ;  and  now  found  it  easy  to  make 
the  cow  and  the  ass  draw  them. 

The  largest  of  the  boilers  or  copper  cal- 
drons we  found  of  the  most  essential  use. 
We  brought  out  all  our  barrels  of  gunpowder, 
and  placed  them  on  their  ends  in  three  sep- 
arate groups,  at  a  short  distance  from  our 
tent ;  we  dug  a  little  ditch  round  the  whole, 
to  draw  off  the  moisture  from  the  ground, 
and  then  put  one  of  the  caldrons  turned  up- 
side down  upon  each,  which  completely  an- 
swered the  purpose  of  an  out-house.  The 
cannon  were  covered  with  sail-cloth,  and  up- 
on this  we  laid  heavy  branches  of  trees ;  the\\ 
larger  casks  of  gunpowder  we  prudently  re- 
moved under  a  projecting  piece  of  rock,  and 
covered  them  with  planks,  till  we  should  have 
leisure  for  executing  the  plan  of  an  ammuni- 
tion store-house,  about  which  we  had  all  be- 
come extremely  earnest. 

My  wife,  in  taking  a  survey  of  these  our 
labors,  made  the  agreeable  discovery,  that 
two  of  our  ducks  and  one  of  the  geese  had 
been  brooding  under  a  large  bush,  and  at  the 
time  were  conducting  their  little  families  to 
the  water.     The  news  produced  general  re- 


418  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

joicings  ;  and  the  sight  of  the  little  creatures, 
so  forcibly  carried  our  thoughts  to  Falcon's 
Stream,  that  we  all  conceived  the  ardent  de- 
sire of  returning  to  the  society  of  the  numer- 
ous old  friends  we  had  left  there.  One 
sighed  for  his  monkey,  another  for  his  fla- 
mingo ;  Francis  for  his  parrot,  and  his.  mo- 
ther for  her  poultry-yard,  her  various  house- 
wifery accommodations,  and  her  comfortable 
bed.  We  therefore  fixed  the  next  day  for 
our  departure,  and  set  about  the  necessary 
preparations. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

A  new  domain.  —  The  troop  of  Buffaloes.  — The 
Vanquished  Hero. 

On  entering  our  plantation  of  fruit-trees 
forming  the  avenue  to  Falcon's  Stream,  we 
observed  that  they  had  not  a  vigorous  ap- 
pearance, and  that  they  inclined  to  curve  a 
little  in  the  stalk :  we  therefore  resolved  to 
support  them  with  sticks,  and  I  proposed  to 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  419 

walk  to  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Disappointment, 
for  the  purpose  of  cutting  some  bamboos.  I 
had  no  sooner  pronounced  the  words,  than 
the  three  eldest  boys  and  their  mother  ex- 
claimed, at  once,  that  they  would  accompany 
me.  Their  curiosity  had  been  excited  by  our 
accounts  of  the  amusing  objects  we  had  met 
with  in  our  visit  to  the  spot :  each  found  a 
sound  and  special  reason  why  he  must  not 
fail  to  be  of  the  party.  Our  provision  of 
candles  was  nearly  exhausted,  and  a  new 
stock  of  berries  must  therefore  be  procured, 
for  my  wife  now  repaired  our  clothes  by  can- 
dle-light, while  I  employed  myself  in  compos- 
ing a  journal  of  the  events  of  every  day:  — 
Then,  the  sow  had  again  deserted  us,  and 
nothing  could  be  so  probable  as  that  we 
should  find  her  in  the  acorn-wood:  Jack 
would  fain  gather  some  guavas  for  himself; 
and  Francis  must  needs  see  the  plantation  of 
sugar-cane's.  In  short,  all  would  visit  this 
land  of  Canaan. 

We  accordingly  fixed  the  following  morn- 
ing, and  set  out  in  full  procession.  For  my- 
self, I  had  a  great  desire  to  explore  more 
thoroughly  this  part  of  our  island.     I  there- 


420  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

fore  made  some  preparations  for  sleepi^ 
should  we  find  the  day  too  short  for  all  wo 
might  have  to  accomplish :  I  took  the  cart 
instead  of  the  sledge,  having  fixed  some 
planks  across  it  for  Francis  and  his  mother 
to  sit  upon  when  they  should  be  tired  :  I  was 
careful  to  be  provided  with  the  different  im- 
plements we  might  want ;  some  rope  machin- 
ery I  had  contrived  for  rendering  the  climb- 
ing of  trees  more  easy;  and  lastly,  some 
provisions,  some  water  in  a  gourd-flask,  and 
one  bottle  of  wine  from  the  captain's  store. 
When  all  was  placed  in  the  cart,  I  for  this 
time  harnessed  to  it  both  the  ass  and  the 
cow,  as  I  expected  the  load  would  be  in- 
creased on  our  return ;  and  we  set  out,  tak- 
ing the  road  of  the  potato  and  manioc  plan- 
tations. Our  first  halt  was  at  the  tree  of 
the  colony  of  birds,  which  I  now  examined 
with  more  attention,  and  recollected  to  what 
species  they  belonged,  by  naturalists  named 
Loxia  G-regaria  (Sociable  Grossbeak.) 

It  was  not  without  much  difficulty  that  we 
conducted  the  cart  through  the  thick  en- 
tangled bushes,  the  most  intricate  of  which  I 
everywhere  cut  down,  and  we  helped  to  push 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  421 

it  along  with  all  our  strength.  "We  succeeded 
tolerably  well  at  last ;  and  that  the  poor  an- 
imals might  have  time  to  rest,  we  determined 
to  pass  several  hours  in  this  place,  which  fur- 
nished such  a  variety  of  agreeable  and  useful 
objects.  We  began  by  gathering  a  bag  full 
of  the  guavas ;  and  after  regaling  ourselves 
plentifully,  we  put  the  remainder  into  the 
cart. 

We  continued  our  way,  and  soon  arrived 
at  the  caoutchouc,  or  gum-elastic  trees.  I 
thought  we  could  not  do  better  than  to  halt 
here,  and  endeavor  to  collect  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  the  sap  to  make  the  different 
utensils,  and  the  impenetrable  boots  and 
shoes,  as  I  had  before  proposed.  It  was  with 
this  design  that  I  had  taken  care  to  bring 
with  me  several  of  the  most  capacious  of  the 
gourd  rinds.  I  made  deep  incisions  in  the 
trunks,  and  fixed  some  large  leaves  of  trees, 
partly  doubled  together  lengthways,  to  the 
place,  to  serve  as  a  sort  of  channel  to  con- 
duct the  sap  to  the  vessels  I  had  kept  in  read- 
iness to  receive  it.  We  had  not  long  begun 
this  process  before  we  perceived  the  sap  be- 
gin to  run  out  as  white  as  milk,  and  in  large 


422  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

drops,  so  that  we  were  not  without  hopes,  by 
the  time  of  our  return,  to  find  the  vessels  full, 
and  thus  to  have  obtained  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity of  the  ingredient  for  a  first  experiment. 

We  left  the  sap  running,  and  pursued  our 
way,  which  led  us  to  the  wood  of  cocoa-trees ; 
from  thence  we  passed  to  the  left,  and  stop- 
ped half-way  between  the  bamboos  and  the 
sugar-canes,  intending  to  furnish  ourselves 
with  a  provision  of  each.  We  aimed  our 
course  so  judiciously,  that  on  clearing  the 
skirts  of  the  wood,  we  found  ourselves  in  an 
open  plain,  with  the  sugar-cane  plantations 
on  our  left,  and  on  our  right  those  of  bamboo, 
interspersed  with  various  kinds  of  palm-trees, 
and,  in  front,  the  magnificent  bay  formed  by 
Cape  Disappointment,  which  stretched  far 
out  into  the  sea. 

The  prospect  that  now  presented  itself  to 
our  view  was  of  such  exquisite  beauty,  .that 
we  determined  to  choose  it  for  our  resting 
place,  and  to  make  it  the  central  point  of 
every  excursion  we  should  in  future  make : 
we  were  even  more  than  half  disposed  to  de- 
sert our  pretty  Falcon's  Stream,  and  trans- 
port our  possessions  hither :  a  moment's  re- 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  423 

flection,  however,  betrayed  the  folly  of  quit- 
ting the  thousand  comforts  we  had  there  with 
almost  incredible  industry  assembled ;  and 
we  dismissed  the  thought  with  promising  our- 
selves to  include  this  ravishing  spot  ever  more 
in  our  projects  for  excursions.  We  disen- 
gaged the  animals,  that  they  might  graze 
and  refresh  themselves  under  the  shade  of 
the  palm-trees,  and  sat  down  to  enjoy  our 
own  repast,  and  to  converse  on  the  beauty  of 
the  scene. 

It  was  now  evening  ;  and  as  we  had  deter- 
mined to  pass  the  night  in  this  enchanting 
spot,  we  began  to  think  of  forming  some  large 
branches  of  trees  into  a  sort  of  hut,  as  is 
practised  by  the  hunters  in  America,  to  shel- 
ter us  from  the  dew  and  the  coolness  of  the 
air.  While  we  were  thus  engaged,  we  were 
suddenly  roused  by  the  loud  braying  of  the 
ass,  which  we  had  left  to  graze  at  a  distance 
but  a  short  time  before.  On  going  to  the 
place,  we  saw  him  throwing  his  head  in  the 
air,  and  kicking  and  prancing  about ;  and 
while  we  were  thinking  what  could  be  the 
matter,  he  set  off  on  a  full  gallop.  Unfor- 
tunately, Turk  and  Flora,  whom  we  sent  after 


424  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

him,  took  the  fancy  of  entering  the  planta- 
tion of  the  sugar-canes,  while  the  ass  had 
preferred  the  direction  of  the  hamboos  on 
the  right.  We  began  to  fear  the  approach 
of  some  wild  beast  might  have  frightened  the 
creature,  and  to  think  of  assembling  our  fire- 
arms. In  a  little  time  the  dogs  returned, 
and  showed  no  signs,  by  scenting  the  ground 
or  otherwise,  of  any  pursuit.  I  made  a  turn 
round  the  hut  to  see  that  all  was  well,  and 
then  sallied  forth  with  Fritz  and  the  two  dogs 
in  the  direction  the  ass  had  taken,  hoping 
the  latter  might  be  enabled  to  trace  him  by 
the  scent. 

Fatigued,  and  vexed  with  the  loss  of  the 
useful  creature,  I  entered  the  hut,  which  I 
found  complete,  the  boys  having  covered  it 
with  sail-cloth,  and  strewed  branches  on  the 
ground  for  sleeping,  and  collected  some  reeds 
for  making  a  fire,  which  the  freshness  of  the 
evening  air  rendered  agreeable  to  all :  it 
served  us  also  for  cooking  our  supper.  When 
all  was  safe,  I  watched  and  replenished  the 
fire  till  midnight,  rather  from  habit  than  the 
fear  of  wild  beasts,  and  then  took  possession  of 
the  little  corner  assigned  me  near  my  slum- 
bering companions. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  425 

The  following  morning  we  breakfasted  ^m 
some  milk  from  the  cow,  some  boiled  pota- 
toes, and  a  small  portion  of  Dutch  cheese, 
and  formed  during  our  meal  the  plan  of  the 
business  for  the  day.  It  was  decided  that 
one  of  the  boys  and  myself,  attended  by  the 
two  dogs,  should  seek  the  ass  through  the 
bamboo  plantation.  I  took  with  me  the  agile 
Jack,  who  was  almost  beside  himself  with  joy 
at  this  determination. 

We  soon  reached  the  bamboo  plantation, 
and  found  means  to  force  ourselves  along  its 
intricate  entanglements.  After  great  fatigue, 
and  when  we  were  on  the  point  of  relinquish- 
ing all  further  hope,  we  discovered  the  print 
of  the  ass's  hoofs  on  the  soil,  which  inspired 
us  with  new  ardor  in  the  pursuit.  After 
spending  a  whole  hour  in  further  endeavors, 
we  at  length,  on  reaching  the  skirts  of  the 
plantation,  perceived  the  sea  in  the  distance, 
and  soon  after  found  ourselves  in  an  open 
space,  which  bounded  the  great  bay.  A  con- 
siderable river  flowed  into  the  bay  at  this 
place,  and  we  perceived  that  the  ridge  of 
rocks  which  we  had  constantly  seen,  extended 
to  the  shore,  and  terminated  in  a  perpendic- 


426  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

ulafc  precipice,  leaving  only  a  narrow  passage 
between  the  rocks  and  the  river,  which  dur- 
ing every  flux  of  the  tide  must  necessarily  be 
under  water,  but  which  at  that  moment  was 
dry  and  passable.     The  probability  that  the 
ass  would  prefer  passing  by  this  narrow  way, 
to  the  hazard  of  the  water,  determined  us  to 
follow  in  the  same  path :  we  had  also  some 
curiosity  to  ascertain  what  might  be  found 
on  the  other  side  of  the  rocks,  for  as  yet  we 
were  ignorant  whether  they  formed  a  bound- 
ary to  our  island,  or  divided  it  into  two  por- 
tions ;  whether  we  should  see  there  land  or 
water.      We   continued  to   advance,  and  at 
length  reached  a  stream  which  issued  foam- 
ing from  a  large  mass  of  rock,  and  fell  in 
a  cascade  into  the  river.     The  bed  of  this 
stream  was  so  deep,  and  its  course  so  rapid, 
that  we  were  a  long  time  finding  a  part  where 
it  might  be  most  practicable  for  us  to  cross. 
When  we  had  got  to  the  other  side,  we  found 
the  soil  again  sandy,  and  mixed  with  a  fertile 
kind  of  earth ;  in  this  place  we  no  longer  saw 
naked  rock ;  but  the  print  of  the  ass's  hoofs 
were  again  visible  on  the  ground. 

By  observing  closely,  we  saw  with  aston- 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  427 

ishment,  the  prints  of  the  feet  of  other  ani- 
mals, much  larger  and  different  in  many  re- 
spects from  those  of  the  ass.  Our  curiosity 
was  so  strongly  excited,  that  we  resolved  to 
follow  the  traces ;  and  they  conducted  us  to 
a  plain  at  a  great  distance,  which  presented 
to  our  wondering  eyes  a  terrestrial  paradise. 
"We  ascended  a  hill  which  partly  concealed 
from  our  view  this  delicious  scene,  and  then, 
with  the  assistance  of  a  glass,  we  beheld  an 
extensive  range  of  country  exhibiting  every 
kind  of  rural  beauty,  and  in  which  a  profound 
tranquillity  had  seemed  to  take  up  its  abode. 
To  our  right  appeared  the  majestic  wall  of 
rocks  which  divided  the  island.  Some  of 
these  appeared  to  touch  the  heavens  ;  others 
to  imprint  the  clouds  with  wild  fantastic 
forms,  while  mists,  broken  into  pieces  par- 
tially concealed  their  tops.  To  the  left,  a 
chain  of  gently  rising  hills,  the  long  green 
verdure  of  which,  tinged  with  blue,  stretched 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  discern,  and  were  in- 
terspersed at  agreeable  distances  with  little 
woods  of  palm-trees.  The  river  we  had 
crossed  flowed  in  a  serpentine  course  through 
this  exquisite  valley,  presenting  the  idea  of  a 


428  THE    SWISS   FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

broad  floating  silver  riband,  while  its  banks 
were  adorned  with  reeds  and  various  aquatic 
plants.  I  could  with  difficulty  take  my  eyes 
from  this  enchanting  spectacle,  and  I  seated 
myself  on  the  ground  to  contemplate  and  en- 
joy it  at  my  leisure.  Neither  on  the  plain 
nor  on  the  hills  was  there  the  smallest  trace 
of  the  abode  of  man,  nor  of  any  kind  of  cul- 
tivation ;  it  was  every  where  a  virgin  soil,  in 
all  its  original  purity ;  nothing  endowed  with 
life  appeared  to  view,  excepting  a  few  birds, 
which  flew  fearlessly  around  us,  and  a  quan- 
tity of  brilliantly  colored  butterflies,  which 
the  eye  frequently  confounded  with  the  dif- 
ferent sorts  of  unknown  flowers,  which  here 
and  there  diversified  the  surface  of  the  soil. 

By  straining  our  eyes,  however,  as  far  as 
we  could  see,  we  thought  we  perceived  at  a 
great  distance  some  specks  upon  the  land, 
that  seemed  to  be  in  motion.  We  hastened 
towards  the  spot ;  and  as  we  drew  nearer,  to 
our  inexpressible  surprise  beheld  a  pretty  nu- 
merous group  of  animals,  which  in  the  assem- 
blage presented  something  like  the  outline  of 
a  troop  of  horses  or  of  cows.  I  observed  them 
sometimes  run  up  to  each  other,  and  then  sud- 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  429 

denly  stoop  to  graze.  Though,  we  had  not 
lately  met  with  farther  traces  of  the  ass,  I 
was  not  entirely  without  the  hope  of  finding 
him  among  these  animals.  On  a  nearer  ap- 
proach, we  perceived  that  they  were  wild  buf- 
faloes.    This  animal  is  formed  at  first  sisrht 

o 

to  inspire  the  beholder  with  terror ;  it  is 
endowed  with  an  extraordinary  degree  of 
strength,  and  two  or  three  of  them  would 
have  been  capable  of  destroying  us  in  a  mo- 
ment, should  they  attack  us.  My  alarm  was 
so  great  that  I  remained  for  a  few  moments 
fixed  to  the  spot  like  a  statue.  By  good 
luck,  the  clogs  were  far  behind  us,  and  the 
buffaloes  gave  no  sign  of  fear  or  of  displeas- 
ure at  our  approach :  they  stood  perfectly 
still,  with  their  large  round  eyes  fixed  upon 
us  in  vacant  surprise :  those  which  were  ly- 
ing down  got  up  slowly,  but  not  one  among 
them  seemed  to  have  any  hostile  disposition 
towards  us.  The  circumstance  of  the  dogs' 
absence  was  most  likely,  on  this  occasion,  the 
means  of  our  safety ;  as  it  was,  we  had  time 
to  draw  back  quietly,  and  prepare  our  fire- 
arms.    It  was  not,  however,  my  intention  to 

make  use  of  them  in  any  way  but  for  defense, 

29 


430  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

being  sensible  that  we  were  unequal  to  the 
encounter,  and  recollecting  also  to  have  read, 
that  the  sound  of  a  gun  drives  the  buffalo  to 
a  state  of  desperation.  I  therefore  thought 
only  of  retreating ;  and  with  my  poor  Jack, 
for  whom  I  was  more  alarmed  than  for  my- 
self, was  proceeding  in  this  way,  when  un- 
fortunately Turk  and  Flora  ran  up  to  us  and 
we  could  see  were  noticed  by  the  buffaloes. 
The  animals  instantly,  and  all  together,  set 
up  such  a  roar  as  to  make  our  nerves  trem- 
ble ;  they  struck  their  horns  and  their  hoofs 
upon  the  ground,  which  they  tore  up  by 
pieces  and  scattered  in  the  air.  I  with  hor- 
ror foresaw  the  moment  when,  confounding 
us  with  the  dogs,  which  no  doubt  they  mis- 
took for  Jackalls,  they  would  seize  upon  and 
tear  us  to  pieces.  Our  brave  Turk  and  Flora, 
fearless  of  danger,  ran,  in  spite  of  all  our  ef- 
forts, into  the  midst  of  them,  and,  according 
to  their  manner  of  attacking,  laid  hold  of  the 
ears  of  a  young  buffalo,  which  happened  to 
be  standing  a  few  paces  nearer  to  us  than  the 
rest ;  and  though  the  creature  began  a  tre- 
mendous roar  and  motion  with  his  hoofs, 
they  held  him  fast,  and  were  dragging  him 


THE  SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  431 

towards  us.  Thus  hostilities  had  commenced  ; 
and  unless  we  could  resolve  to  abandon  the 
cause  of  our  valiant  defenders,  we  were  now 
forced  upon  the  measure  of  open  war,  which, 
considering  the  strength  and  number  of  the 
enemy,  wore  a  face  of  the  most  pressing  and 
inevitable  danger.  Our  every  hope  seemed 
now  to  be  in  the  chance  of  the  terror  the  buf- 
faloes would  feel  at  the  noise  of  our  mus- 
ketry, which,  perhaps,  for  the  first  time, 
would  assail  their  organs,  and  most  likely 
excite  them  to  flight.  With,  I  must  confess, 
a  palpitating  heart,  and  trembling  hands,  we 
fired  both  at  the  same  moment ;  the  buffaloes, 
terrified  by  the  sound  and  by  the  smoke,  re- 
mained for  an  instant  motionless,  as  if  struck 
by  a  thunderbolt,  and  then  one  and  all  be- 
took themselves  to  flight  with  such  incredible 
rapidity,  that  they  were  soon  beyond  the 
reach  of  our  sight.  We  heard  their  loud 
roaring  from  a  considerable  distance,  which 
by  degrees  subsided  into  silence,  and  we  were 
left  with  only  one  of  their  terrific  species  near 
us  ;  this  one,  a  female,  was  no  doubt  the  mo- 
ther of  the  young  buffalo  which  the  dogs  had 
seized  and  still  kept  a  prisoner;    she  had 


432  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

drawn  near  on  hearing  its  cries,  and  had  been 
wounded  by  our  guns,  but  not  killed;  the 
creature  was  in  a  furious  state :  after  a  mo- 
ment's pause,  she  took  aim  at  the  dogs,  and 
with  her  head  on  the  ground,  as  if  to  guide 
her  by  the  scent,  was  advancing  in  her  rage, 
and  would  have  torn  them  to  pieces,  if  I  had 
not  prevented  her  by  firing  upon  her  with  my 
double-barreled  gun,  and  thus  putting  an  end 
to  her  existence. 

It  was  only  now  that  we  began  to  breathe. 
A  few  moments  before,  death,  in  the  most 
horrible  and  inevitable  form,  seemed  to  stare 
us  in  the  face  !  But  now  we  might  hope  that 
every  danger  was  over  :  I  was  enchanted  with 
the  behavior  of  my  boy,  who,  instead  of  giv- 
ing way  to  fears  and  lamentations,  as  other 
lads  of  his  age  might  have  done,  had  stood  all 
the  time  in  a  firm  posture  by  my  side,  and  had 
fired  with  a  steady  aim  in  silence.  I  bestowed 
freely  on  him  the  commendation  he  had  so 
well  deserved,  and  made  him  sensible  how  ne- 
cessary it  is  in  times  of  danger  to  preserve  a 
presence  of  mind,  which  in  many  cases  is  of 
itself  sufficient  to  effect  the  sough t-for  deliv- 

CD 

erance.     The  young  buffalo  still  remained  a 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  433 

prisoner  with  h}g"  ears  in  the  mouths  of  the 
clogs,  and  the  pain  occasioned  him  to  be  so 
furious,  that  I  was  fearful  he  might  do  them 
some  injury ;  I  therefore  determined  to  ad- 
vance and  give  them  what  assistance  I  might 
find  practicable.  To  say  the  truth,  I  scarcely 
knew  in  what  way  to  effect  this.  The  buf- 
falo, though  young,  was  strong  enough  to  re- 
venge himself  if  I  were  to  give  the  dogs  a 
sign  to  let  go  his  ears.  I  had  the  power  of 
killing  him  with  a  pistol  at  a  stroke  ;  but  I 
had  a  great  desire  to  preserve  him  alive,  and 
to  tame  him,  that  he  might  be  a  substitute 
for  the  ass,  which  we  had  but  little  hope  of 
recovering.  I  found  myself  in  a  perplexing 
state  of  indecision,  when  Jack  suddenly  in- 
terposed an  effective  means  for  accomplishing 
my  wishes.  He  had  his  string  with  balls  in 
his  pocket ;  he  drew  it  out  hastily,  and  mak- 
ing a  few  steps  backward,  he  threw  it  so  skil- 
fully as  to  entangle  the  buffalo  completely, 
and  throw  him  down.  As  I  could  then  ap- 
proach him  safely,  I  tied  his  legs  two  and  two 
together  with  a  very  strong  cord;  the  dogs 
released  his  ears,  and  from  this  moment  we 
considered  the  buffalo  as  our  own.     Jack  was 


434  THE.  SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

almost  mad  with  joy.  "What  a  magnificent 
creature  !  How  much  better  than  the  ass  he 
will  look,  harnessed  to  the  cart !  How  my 
mother  and  the  boys  will  be  surprised  and 
stare  at  him  as  we  draw  near  ! "  repeated  he, 
many  and  many  times. 

The  question  was  now,  how  we  were  to  get 
the  buffalo  home ;  having  reflected,  I  con- 
ceived that  the  best  way  would  be  to  tie  his 
two  forelegs  together  so  tight  that  he  could 
not  run,  yet  loose  enough  for  him  to  walk ; 
"  and,"  pursued  I,  "  we  will  next  adopt  the 
method  practised  in  Italy :  you  will  think  it 
somewhat  cruel,  but  the  success  will  be  cer- 
tain ;  and  it  shall  afterwards  be  our  study  to 
make  him  amends  by  the  kindest  care  and 
treatment.  Hold  you  the  cord  which  con- 
fines his  legs  with  all  your  strength,  that  he 
may  not  be  able  to  move:  —  I  then  called 
Turk  and  Flora,  and  made  each  again  take 
hold  of  the  ears  of  the  animal ;  I  took  from 
my  pocket  a  sharp  pointed  knife,  and  taking 
hold  of  the  snout,  I  made  a  hole  in  the  nos- 
tril, into  which  I  quickly  inserted  the  string, 
which  I  immediately  tied  so  closely  to  a 
tree,  that  the  animal  was  prevented  from  the 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  435 

least  motion  of  the  head,  which  might  have 
inflamed  the  wound  and  increased  his  pain. 
I  drew  off  the  dogs  the  moment  the  operation 
was  performed.  The  creature,  thus  rendered 
furious,  would  have  run  away,  but  the  strict- 
ure of  the  legs  and  the  pain  in  the  nostril 
prevented  it.  The  first  attempt  I  made  to 
pull  the  cord,  found  him  docile  and  ready  to 
accommodate  his  motions  to  our  designs,  and 
I  perceived  that  we  might  now  begin  our 
march.  I  left  him  for  a  short  time  to  make 
some  other  preparations. 

I  was  unwilling  to  leave  so  fine  a  prey  as 
the  dead  buffalo  behind  us  ;  I  therefore,  after 
considering  what  was  to  be  done,  began  by 
cutting  out  the  tongue,  which  I  sprinkled 
with  some  of  the  salt  we  had  in  our  provision- 
bag  :  I  next  took  off  the  skin  from  the  four 
feet,  taking  care  not  to  tear  it  in  the  opera- 
tion. I  remembered  that  the  Americans  use 
these  skins,  which  are  of  a  soft  and  flexible 
quality,  as  boots  and  shoes,  and  I  considered 
them  as  precious  articles.  I  lastly  cut  some 
of  the  flesh  of  the  animal  with  the  skin  on, 
and  salted  it,  and  abandoned  the  rest  to  the 
dogs,  as  a  recompense  for  their  behavior.     I 


436  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

then  repaired  to  the  river  to  wash  myself,  af- 
ter which  we  sat  down  under  the  shade  of  a 
large  tree,  and  ate  the  rest  of  our  provisions. 

As  we  were  not  disposed  to  leave  the  spot 
in  a  hurry,  I  desired  Jack  to  take  the  saw 
and  cut  down  a  small  quantity  of  the  reeds, 
which  from  their  enormous  size  might  be  of 
use  to  us.  We  set  to  work,  but  I  observed 
that  he  took  pains  to  choose  the  smallest. 
—  "What  shall  we  do,"  said  I,  "with  these 
small-sized  reeds  ?  You  are  thinking,  I  pre- 
sume, of  a  bag-pipe,  to  announce  a  triumphal 
arrival  to  our  companion  ?  "  —  "  You  are  mis- 
taken, father,"  answered  Jack ;  "I  am  think- 
ing of  some  candlesticks  for  my  mother,  who 
will  set  so  high  a  value  on  them  !  " 

"This  is  a  good  thought,"  said  I;  "I  am 
pleased  both  with  the  kindness  and  the  read- 
iness of  your  invention,  and  I  will  assist  you 
to  empty  the  reeds  without  breaking  them : 
if  we  should  not  succeed,  at  least  we  know 
where  to  provide  ourselves  with  more. 

We  had  so  many  and  such  heavy  articles 
to  remove,  that  I  dismissed  for  that  day  all 
thoughts  of  looking  further  for  the  ass.  I 
began  now  to  think  of  untying  the  young  buf- 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBIN  SOX.  437 

falo  ;  and  on  approaching  him,  perceived  with 
pleasure  that  he  was  asleep,  which  afforded 
me  a  proof  that  his  wound  was  not  extremely 
painful.  As  I  began  to  pull  him  gently  with 
the  string,  he  gave  a  start ;  but  he  afterwards 
followed  me  without  resistance.  I  fastened 
another  string  to  his  horns,  and  led  him  on 
by  drawing  both  together  ;  and  he  performed 
the  journey  with  so  unexpected  a  docility, 
that  to  ease  ourselves  of  a  part  of  our  heavy 
burdens,  we  even  ventured  on  the  measure  of 
fastening  the  bundles  of  reeds  upon  his  back, 
and  upon  these  we  laid  the  salted  pieces  of 
the  buffalo.  The  creature  did  not  seem  aware 
that  he  wTas  carrying  a  load ;  he  followed  in 
our  path,  as  before,  and  thus  on  the  first  day 
of  our  acquaintance  he  rendered  us  an  essen- 
tial service. 

In  a  short  time  we  found  ourselves  once 
more  at  the  narrow  passage  between  the  tor- 
rent and  the  precipice  of  the  rocks,  which  I 
have  already  mentioned.  I  had  tied  the 
young  buffalo  to  a  tree  near  the  cascade, 
without  remarking  of  what  species  it  might 
be  ;  when  I  went  to  release  him,  I  saw  that  it 
was  a  kind  of  small  palm-tree,  and  on  looking 


438  THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

about  me,  I  also  observed  some  other  palm- 
trees,  which  I  had  not  before  met  with.  One 
of  the  kinds,  I  now  remarked,  was  from  ten 
to  twelve  feet  in  height;  its  leaves  were 
armed  with  thorns,  and  it  bore  a  fruit  re- 
sembling a  small  cucumber  in  form,  but 
which  at  this  time  was  immature,  so  that  we 
could  not  taste  it.  The  second,  which  was 
smaller,  was  also  thorny ;  it  was  now  in  blos- 
som, and  had  no  fruit.  I  suspected  that  the 
first  of  these  was  the  little  royal  palm,  some- 
times called  awiva  or  Adam's  needle;  and 
the  other,  the  divarf  palm.  I  resolved  to 
avail  myself  of  both,  for  further  fortifying 
my  enclosure  at  Tent-House,  and  also  to  pro- 
tect the  outer  side  of  the  narrow  pass  imme- 
diately over  the  torrent  of  the  cascade.  I 
determined  to  return  and  plant  a  line  of  them 
there,  as  close  to  each  other  as  the  consider- 
ation of  their  growth  would  allow ;  for  my 
intention,  of  course,  was  to  effect  this  by 
means  of  the  young  shoots,  which  presented 
themselves  in  great  abundance ;  we  also 
hoped  by  that  time  to  find  their  fruit  ripe, 
and  to  ascertain  their  kind.  We  repassed 
the  river  in  safety,  and  accompanied  by  the 
agreeable  sounds  of  its  foaming  cascades,  we 


THE  SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  439 

regained  the  narrow  pass  at  the  turn  of  the 
rocks.  We  proceeded  with  caution,  and  when 
safe  on  the  other  side,  we  thought  of  quick- 
ening our  pace  to  arrive  the  sooner  at  the 
hut. 

The  first  solicitudes  about  health  and  safety 
being  answered,  we  entered  upon  the  narra- 
tive of  our  adventures ;  when  question  after 
question  was  so  rapidly  proposed  to  us,  that 
we,  on  our  parts,  were  obliged  to  ask  for  the 
necessary  time  for  our  replies.  All  agreed 
that  our  success  with  the  buffalo  was  the  most 
extraordinary  of  our  achievements  :  all  longed 
for  the  morning,  when  they  might  take  their 
fill  of  looking  at  the  spirited  creature  we  had 
brought  with  us.  The  day  concluded  with 
supper,  and  sound  repose. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

The  Malabar  Eagle;  —  Sago    Manufactory;-— 

Bees. 

My  wife  the  next  morning  began  the  con- 
versation.    She  told  me  that  the  boys  had 


440  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

been  good  and  diligent ;  that  they  had  as- 
cended Cape  Disappointment  with  her,  and 
had  gathered  wood,  and  made  some  torches 
for  the  night,  and,  what  seemed  almost  in- 
credible, had  ventured  to  fell  and  bring  down 
an  immense  palm-tree.  It  lay  prostrate  on 
the  ground,  and  covered  a  space  of  at  least 
seventy  feet  in  length.  To  effect  their  pur- 
pose, Fritz  had  got  up  the  tree  with  a  long 
rope,  which  he  fastened  tight  to  the  top  of 
it.  As  soon  as  he  had  come  down  again,  he 
and  Ernest  worked  with  the  axe  and  saw  to 
cut  it  through.  When  it  was  nearly  divided, 
they  cautiously  managed  its  fall  with  the  rope, 
and  in  this  manner  they  succeeded.  Fritz 
was  in  high  spirits  too  on  another  account : 
he  brought  me  on  his  wrist  a  young  bird 
of  prey,  of  the  most  beauteous  plumage ;  he 
had  taken  it  from  the  nest  in  one  of  the  rocks 
near  Cape  Disappointment.  Very  young  as 
the  bird  was,  it  had  already  all  its  feathers, 
though  they  had  not  yet  received  their  full 
coloring  ;  it  answered  to  the  description  I 
had  read  of  the  beautiful  eagle  of  Malabar, 
aud  I  viewed  it  with  the  admiration  it  was 
entitled   to:  —  meeting   with  one    of   these 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON".  441 

birds  is  thought  a  lucky  omen  ;  and  it  being 
neither  large  nor  expensive  in  its  food,  I  was 
desirous  to' keep  and  train  it  like  a  falcon,  to 
pursue  smaller  birds.  Fritz  had  already  cov- 
ered its  eyes  and  tied  a  string  to  its  foot ; 
and  I  advised  him  to  hold  it  often,  and  for  a 
length  of  time,  on  his  hand,  and  to  tame  it 
with  hunger,  as  falconers  do. 

When  all  the  narratives  were  concluded,  I 
ordered  a  fire  to  be  lighted,  and  a  quantity 
of  green  wood  to  be  put  on  it,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  raising  a  thick  smoke,  over  which  I 
meant  to  hang  the  buffalo  meat  I  had  salted, 
to  dry  and  preserve  it  for  our  future  use. 
The  young  buffalo  was  beginning  to  browse, 
and  we  gave  him  also  a  little  of  the  cow's 
milk ;  and  in  a  few  days  we  fed  him  with  a 
heap  of  sliced  potatoes,  which  he  greedily  de- 
voured ;  and  this  led  us  to  conclude  that  the 
pains  from  the  wound  in  his  nose  had  sub- 
sided, and  that  he  would  soon  become  tame. 

The  morrting  of  this  day  was  spent  in  again 
talking  over  our  late  extraordinary  adven- 
tures ;  we  left  our  meat  suspended  over  the 
smoke  of  the  fires  during  our  sleep ;  we  tied 
the  young  buffalo  by  the  side  of  the  cow,  and 


442  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

were  pleased  to  see  them  agree  and  bid  fair 
to  live  in  peace  together.  At  night  the  dogs 
were  set  upon  the  watch.  Fritz  resolved  to 
go  to  bed  with  his  eaglet  fastened  on  his 
wrist,  and  its  eyes  still  bound :  it  remained 
in  this  state  throughout  the  night  without 
disturbing  its  master.  The  time  of  repose 
elapsed  so  calmly,  that  none  of  us  awoke  to 
keep  in  the  torch-lights,  which  now  for  the 
first  time  the  industry  of  the  boys  had  sup- 
plied us  with,  and  we  did  not  get  up  till  af- 
ter sunrise.  After  a  moderate  breakfast,  I 
chanted  the  accustomed  summons  for  our  set- 
ting out ;  but  my  young  ones  had  some  pro- 
jects in  their  heads,  and  neither  they  nor 
their  mother  were  just  then  in  the  humor  to 
obey  me. 

"  Let  us  reflect  a  little  first,"  said  my  wife ; 
"  as  we  had  so  much  difficulty  in  felling  the 
palm-tree,  would  it  not  be  a  pity  to  lose  our 
labor,  by  leaving  it  in  this  place  ?  Ernest  as- 
sures me  it  is  a  sago-tree ;  if  so,  the  pith 
would  be  an  excellent  ingredient  for  our 
soups.  Do,  my  dear,  examine  it,  and  let  us 
see  if  in  any  way  we  can  turn  it  to  account." 

I  found  she  was  in  the  right :    but  in  that 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  443 

case  it  was  necessary  to  employ  a  day  in  the 
business ;  since,  to  lay  open  from  one  end  to 
the  other  a  tree  of  such  a  length  and  sub- 
stance,  was  no  trivial  task.  I  however  con- 
sented ;  as,  independent  of  the  use  of  the  far- 
inaceous pith,  I  could,  by  emptying  it,  obtain 
two  handsome  and  large  troughs  for  the  con- 
veyance of  water  from  Jackall's  river  to  my 
wife's  kitchen-garden  at  Tent-House,  and 
thence  to  my  new  plantation  of  trees. 

Fritz.  —  One  of  the  halves,  father,  will  an- 
swer that  purpose,  and  the  other  will  serve 
as  a  conduit  for  our  little  stream  from  Fal- 
con's Nest  into  my  pretty  basin  lined  with 
tortoise-shell;  we  then  shall  be  constantly 
regaled  with  the  agreeable  view  of  a  fountain 
close  to  our  dwelling  : — I  fancy  it  now  be- 
fore my  eyes,  and  that  I  see  its  course. 
"And  I,  for  my  part,"  said  Ernest,  "  long 
for  a  sight  of  the  sago  formed  into  small 
grains,  as  I  have  seen  it  in  Europe." 

I  now  desired  them  to  bring  me  the 
graters  they  had  used  for  the  manioc,  and 
observed  that  they  had  to  assist  me  in  raising 
the  palm-tree  from  the  ground,  which  must 
bo  doae?  continued  I,  by  fixing  at  each  end 


444  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

two  small  cross  pieces  or  props  to  support  it ; 
to  split  it  open  as  it  lies  would  be  a  work  of 
too  much  labor :  this  clone  I  shall  want  sev- 
eral wooden  wedges  to  keep  the  cleft  open 
while  I  am  sawing  it,  and  afterwards  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  water.  "  There  is  the  diffi- 
culty," said  my  wife  ;  "  our  Falcon's  Stream 
is  too  far  off,  and  we  have  not  yet  discovered 
any  spring  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  place." 

Ernest.  —  That  is  of  no  consequence,  mo- 
ther; I  have  seen  hereabouts  so  great  an 
abundance  of  the  plants  which  contain  water, 
that  we  need  not  be  at  a  loss ;  for  they  will 
fully  supply  us,  if  I  could  only  contrive  to 
get  vessels  enough  to  hold  it. 

We  now  produced  the  enormous  reeds  we 
had  brought  home,  which  being  hollow,  would 
answer  the  purpose  of  vessels ;  and  as  some 
time  was  required  to  draw  off  the  water  from 
such  small  tubes,  he  and  Francis  at  once  set 
to  work ;  they  cut  a  number  of  the  plants, 
which  they  placed  slantingly  over  the  brim 
of  a  vessel,  and  whilst  that  was  filling  they 
were  preparing  another.  The  rest  of  us  got 
round  the  tree,  and  with  our  united  strength 
we  soon  succeeded  in  raising  the  heavy  trunk, 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  445 

and  the  top  of  it  was  then  sawed  off.  We 
next  began  to  split  it  through  the  whole 
length,  and  this  the  softness  of  the  wood  en- 
abled us  to  effect  with  little  trouble.  We 
soon  reached  the  pith  or  marrow  that  fills  up 
the  middle  of  the  trunk  the  whole  of  its 
length.  When  divided,  we  laid  one  half  on 
the  ground,  and  we  pressed  the  pith  together 
wTith  our  hands,  so  as  to  make  temporary 
room  for  the  pith  of  the  other  half  to  the 
trunk,  which  rested  still  on  the  props.  We 
wished  to  empty  it  entirely,  that  we  might 
employ  it  as  a  kneading  trough,  leaving 
merely  enough  of  the  pith  at  both  ends  to 
prevent  a  running  out;  and  then  we  pro- 
ceeded to  form  our  paste. 

My  young  manufacturers  fell  joyfully  to 
work:  they  brought  water,  and  poured  it 
gradually  into  the  trough,  whilst  we  mixed  it 
wTith  the  flour.  In  a  short  time  the  paste  ap- 
peared sufficiently  fermented  :  I  then  made 
an  aperture  at  the  bottom  of  the  grater  on 
its  outside,  and  pressed  the  paste  strongly 
with  my  hand ;  the  farinaceous  purts  pressed 
with  ease  through  the  small  holes  of  the  gra- 
ter, and  the  ligneous  parts  which  did  not  pass 

30 


446  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

■were  thrown  aside  in  a  heap,  in  the  hope 
that  mushrooms,  &c.  might  spring  from  them. 
My  boys  were  in  readiness  to  receive  in  the 
reed  vessels  what  fell  from  the  grater,  and 
conveyed  it  directly  to  their  mother,  whose 
business  was  to  spread  out  the  small  grains 
in  the  sun  upon  sailcloth,  for  the  purpose  of 
drying  them.  Thus  we  procured  a  good  sup- 
ply of  a  wholesome  and  pleasant  food ;  and 
should  have  had  a  larger  stock  of  it,  had  we 
not  been  restricted  as  to  time ;  but  the  privi- 
lege of  renewing  the  process  at  pleasure,  by 
felling  a  sago-tree,  added  to  some  impatience 
to  take  home  our  two  pretty  conduits,  and 
employ  them  as  proposed,  prompted  us  to  ex- 
pedite the  business.  The  paste  which  re- 
mained was  thrown  upon  the  mushroom-bed, 
and  watered  well  to  promote  fermentation. 

We  next  employed  ourselves  in  loading  the 
cart  with  our  tools  and  the  two  halves  of  the 
tree.  Night  coming  on,  we  retired  to  our 
hut,  where  we  enjoyed  our  usual  repose,  and 
early  next  morning  were  ready  to  return  to 
Falcon's  Stream.  Our  buffalo  now  com- 
menced his  service,  yoked  with  the  cow ;  he 
supplied  the  want  of  the  ass,  and  was  very 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  447 

tractable :  it  is  true,  I  led  him  by  the  cord 
in  bis  nose,  and  thus  restrained  him  when- 
ever he  was  disposed  to  deviate  from  his  duty. 

We  returned  the  same  way  as  we  came,  in 
order  to  load  the  cart  with  a  provision  of  ber- 
ries, wax,  and  elastic  gum.  I  sent  forward 
Fritz  and  Jack  as  a  vanguard,  with  one  of 
the  dogs ;  they  were  to  cut  an  ample  road 
through  the  bushes  for  our  cart.  The  two 
water  conductors,  which  were  very  long,  pro- 
duced numerous  difficulties,  and  somewhat 
impeded  our  progress.  "We  reached  the  wax 
and  gum  trees  with  tolerable  speed  and  with- 
out any  accident,  and  halted  to  place  our 
sacks  of  berries  in  the  cart.  The  elastic  gum 
had  not  yielded  as  much  as  I  expected,  fiom 
the  too  rapid  thickening  caused  by  an  ardent 
sun.  We  obtained  however  about  a  quart, 
which  sufficed  for  the  experiment  of  the  im- 
penetrable'boots  I  had  so  long  desired. 

We  set  out  again,  still  preceded  by  our  pi- 
oneers, who  cleared  the  way  for  us  through 
the  little  wood  of  guavas.  Suddenly  we  heard 
a  dreadful  noise,  which  came  from  our  van- 
guard, and  beheld  Fritz  and  Jack  hastening 
towards  us.     I  began  now  to  fear  a  tiger  or 


448  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

panther  was  near  at  hand,  or  had  perhaps  at- 
tacked them.     Turk  began  to  bark  so  fright- 
fully, and  Flora  joined  in  so  hideous  a  yell, 
that  I  prepared  myself  for  a  bloody  conflict. 
I  advanced  at  the  head  of  my  troop  to  the 
assistance  of  my  high-mettled  dogs,  who  ran 
furiously  up  to  a  thicket,  where  they  stopped, 
and  with  their  noses  to  the  ground,  and  al- 
most breathless,  strove  to  enter  it.     I  had  no 
doubt  some  terrible  animal  was  lurking  there ; 
and  Fritz,  who  had  seen  it  through  the  leaves^ 
confirmed  my  suspicions ;  he  said  it  was  about 
the  size  of  the  young  buffalo,   and  that  his 
hair  was  black  and  shaggy.     I  was  going  to 
fire  at  it  promiscuously  in  the  thicket,  when 
Jack,  who  had  thrown  himself  on  his  face  on 
the  ground  to  have  a  better  view  of  the  ani- 
mal,  got  up  in  a  fit  of  laughter  —  "It  is 
only,"  exclaimed  he,  "our  old  sow,  who  is 
never  tired  of  playing  off  her  tricks  upon  us." 
Half  vexed,  half  laughing,  we  broke  into  the 
midst   of  the  thicket,   where  in  reality   we 
found  our  old  companion  stretched  supinely 
on  the  earth,  but  by  no  means  in  a  state  of 
dreary  solitude ;    she  had  round  her  seven 
little  creatures,  which  had  been  littered  a  few 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  449 

days,  and  were  sprawling  about,  contending 
with  each  other  for  the  best  place  near  their 
mother  for  a  hearty  meal.  This  discovery 
gave  us  considerable  satisfaction,  and  we  all 
greeted  the  good  matron,  who  seemed  to  rec- 
ollect and  welcome  us  with  a  sociable  kind  of 
grunting,  while  she  licked  her  young  without 
any  ceremony  or  show  of  fear.  And  now  a 
general  consultation  took  place  —  should  this 
new  family  be  left  where  we  found  it,  or  con- 
veyed to  Falcon's  Stream  ?  Opinions  being 
at  variance,  it  was  decided  that  for  the  pres- 
ent they  should  keep  quiet  possession  of  their 
retreat. 

We  then,  so  many  adventures  ended,  pur- 
sued our  road,  and  arrived  at  Falcon's  Stream 
in  safety,  experiencing  what  is  so  generally 
true,  that  home  is  always  dear  and  sacred  to 
the  heart,  and  anticipated  with  delight.  All 
was  in  due  order,  and  our  animals  welcomed 
our  return  in  their  own  jargon  and  manner, 
but  which  did  not  fail  to  be  expressive  of 
their  satisfaction  in  seeing  us  again.  We 
threw  them  some  of  the  food  they  were  most 
partial  to,  which  they  greedily  accepted,  and 
then   voluntarily  went  back  to    their  usual 


450  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

stand.  It  was  necessary  to  practise  a  meas- 
ure dictated  by  prudence,  which  was  to  tie 
up  the  buffalo  again,  to  inure  it  by  degrees 
to  confinement ;  and  the  handsome  Malabar 
eagle  shared  the  same  fate :  Fritz,  chose  to 
place  it  near  the  parrot  on  the  root  of  a  tree; 
he  fastened  it  with  a  piece  of  packthread,  of 
sufficient  length  to  allow  it  free  motion,  and 
uncovered  its  eyes ;  till  then  the  bird  had 
been  tolerably  quiet ;  but  the  instant  it  was 
restored  to  light  it  fell  into  a  species  of  rage 
that  surprised  us ;  it  proudly  raised  its  head, 
its  feathers  became  ruffled,  and  its  eyeballs 
seemed  to  whirl  in  their  orbits,  and  dart  out 
vivid  lightnings.  All  the  poultry  were  ter- 
rified and  fled ;  but  the  poor  luckless  parrot 
was  too  near  the  sanguinary  creature  to  es- 
cape. Before  we  were  aware  of  the  clanger, 
it  was  seized  and  mangled  by  the  formidable 
hooked  beak  of  the  eagle.  Fritz  vented  his 
anger  in  loud  and  passionate  reproaches ;  he 
would  have  killed  the  murderer  on  the  spot, 
had  not  Ernest  ran  up  and  entreated  him  to 
spare  its  life:  "Parrots,"  said  he,  "we  shall 
find  in  plenty,  but  never  perhaps  so  beaute- 
ous, so  magnificent  a  bird  as  this  eagle,  which, 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  451 

as  father  observes,  we  may  train  for  hawk- 
ing. You  may,  too,  blame  only  yourself  for 
the  parrot's  death; — why  did  you  uncover 
his  eyes  ?  I  could  have  told  you  that  falcon- 
ers keep  them  covered  six  weeks,  till  they  are 
completely  tamed.  But  now,  brother,  let  me 
have  the  care  of  him  ;  let  me  manage  the  un- 
ruly fellow;  he  shall  soon,  in  consequence  of 
the  methods  I  shall  use,  be  as  tractable  and 
submissive  as  a  new-born  puppy." 

Fritz  refused  to  part  with  his  eagle,  and 
Ernest  did  not  long  oppose  giving  him  the 
information  he  wanted:  —  "I  have  read," 
said  he,  "somewhere,  that  the  Caribs  puff 
tobacco  smoke  into  the  nostrils  of  the  birds 
of  prey  and  of  the  parrots  they  catch,  until 
they  are  giddy  and  almost  senseless ;  —  this 
stupefaction  over,  they  are  no  longer  wild 
and  untractable." 

Fritz  resolved  on  the  experiment :  he  took 
some  tobacco  and  a  pipe,  of  which  we  had 
plenty  in  the  sailors'  chests,  and  began  to 
smoke,  at  the  same  time  gradually  approach- 
ing the  unruly  bird.  As  soon  as  it  was  some- 
what composed,  he  replaced  the  fillet  over 
the  eyes,  and  smoked  close  to  its  beak  and 


402  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 


nostrils  so  effectually,  that  it  became  motion- 
less on  the  spot,  and'  had  the  exact  air  of 
a  stuffed  bird.  Fritz  thought  it  dead,  and 
was  inclined  to  be  angr y  with  his  brother ; 
but  I  told  him  it  would  not  hold  on  the  perch 
if  it  were  lifeless,  and  that  its  head  alone  was 
affected ;  —  and  so  it  proved.  The  favorite 
came  to  itself  by  degrees,  and  made  no  noise 
when  its  eyes  were  unbound ;  it  looked  at  us 
with  an  air  of  surprise,  but  void  of  fury,  and 
grew  tamer  and  calmer  every  day.  The  care 
of  the  monkey  was  now  by  all  adjudged  to 
Ernest  as  a  reward,  and  he  took  formal  pos- 
session of  it,  and  made  it  lie  down  near  him. 

We  next  began  a  business  which  we  had 
long  determined  on ;  it  was  to  plant  bamboos 
close  to  all  the  young  trees,  to  support  them 
in  their  growth.  We  had  our  cart  loaded 
with  canes  in  readiness,  and  a  large  pointed 
iron  to  dig  holes  in  the  ground. 

We  began  our  work  at  the  entrance  of  the 
avenue  nearest  to  Falcon's  Stream.  The 
walnut,  chesnut,  and  cherry-trees  we  had 
planted  in  a  regular  line  and  at  equal  dis- 
tances, we  found  disposed  to  bend  considera- 
bly to  one  side.     Being  the  strongest,  I  took 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  453 

the  task  of  making  holes  with  the  implement 
upon  myself,  which,  as  the  soil  was  light,  I 
easily  performed.  The  boys  selected  the 
bamboos,  cut  them  of  equal  lengths,  and 
pointed  the  ends  to  go  into  the  ground. 
When  they  were  well  fixed,  we  threw  up  the 
earth  compactly  about  them,  and  fastened 
the  sapling  by  the  branches  to  them  with 
some  long  straight  tendrils  of  a  plant  which 
we  found  near  the  spot.  In  the  midst  of  our 
exertions  we  entered  into  a  conversation  re- 
specting the  culture  of  trees.  Till  then  my 
boys  had  only  thought  of  eating  fruits,  with- 
out giving  themselves  much  trouble  about 
their  production  ;  but  now  their  curiosity  was 
excited,  and  they  asked  a  thousand  questions, 
which  I  answered  as  well  as  I  could. 

Towards  evening,  a  keen  appetite  hastened 
our  return  to  Falcon's  Stream,  where  we 
found  an  excellent  and  plentiful  supper  pre- 
pared by  our  good  and  patient  steward. 

When  the  sharpness  of  hunger  was  ap- 
peased, a  new  subject  was  introduced,  -which 
I  and  my  wife  had  been  thinking  of  for  some 
time ;  she  found  it  difficult,  and  even  danger- 
ous, to  ascend  and  descend  our  tree  with  a 


454  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

rope  ladder :  we  never  went  there  but  on  go- 
ing to  bed,  and  each  time  felt  an  apprehen- 
sion that  one  of  the  children,  who  scrambled 
up  like  cats,  might  make  a  false  step,  and 
perhaps  be  lamed  forever :  bad  weather  might 
come  on,  and  compel  us  for  a  long  time  to- 
gether to  seek  an  asylum  in  our  aerial  apart- 
ment, and  consequently  to  ascend  and  de- 
scend oftener. 

My  wife  had  repeatedly  applied  to  me  to 
remedy  this  evil,  and  my  own  anxiety  had 
often  made  me  reflect  if  the  thing  were  really 
possible.  A  staircase  on  the  outside  was  not 
to  be  thought  of;  the  considerable  height  of 
the  tree  rendered  that  impracticable,  as  I  had 
nothing  to  rest  it  on,  and  should  be  at  a  loss 
to  find  beams  to  sustain  it ;  but  I  had  for 
some  time  formed  the  idea  of  constructing 
winding  stairs  within  the  immense  trunk  of 
the  tree,,  if  it  should  happen  to  be  hollow,  or 
I  could  contrive  to  make  it  so :  I  had  heard 
the  boys  talking  of  a  hollow  in  our  tree,  and 
of  a  swarm  of  bees  issuing  from  it,  and  I 
now,  therefore,  went  to  examine  whether  the 
cavity  extended  to  the  roots,  or  what  its  cir- 
cumference might  be.     The  boys  seized  the 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  455 

idea  -with  ardor ;  they  sprang  up,  and  climbed 
to  the  tops  of  the  roots  like  squirrels,  to  strike 
at  the  trunk  with  axes,  and  to  judge  from  tne 
sound  how  far  it  was  hollow ;  but  they  soon 
paid  dearly  for  their  attempt;  the  whole 
swarm  of  bees,,  alarmed  at  the  noise  made 
against  their  dwelling,  issued  forth,  buzzing 
with  fury,  attacked  the  little  disturbers,  be- 
gan to  sting  them,  stuck  to  their  hair  and 
clothes,  and  soon  put  them  to  flight,  uttering 
lamentable  cries.  My  wife  and  I  had  some 
trouble  to  stop  the  course  of  their  uproar, 
and  cover  their  little  wounds  with  fresh  earth 
to  allay  the  smart.  Jack,  whose  temper  was 
on  all  occasions  rash,  had  struck  fiercely 
upon  the  bees'  nest,  and  was  more  severely 
attacked  by  them  than  the  rest :  it  was  ne- 
cessary, so  serious  was  the  injury,  to  cover 
the  whole  of  his  face  with  linen.  The  less 
active  Ernest  got  up  the  last,  and  was  the 
first  to  run  off  when  he  sdw  the  consequences, 
and  thus  avoided  any  further  injury  than  a 
sting  or  two :  but  some  hours  elapsed  before 
the  other  boys  could  open  their  eyes,  or  be 
in  the  least  relieved  from  the  acute  pain  that 
had  been  inflicted.     When  they  grew  a  little 


456  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

better,  the  desire  of  being  revenged  of  the 
insects  that  had  so  roughly  used  them  had 
the  ascendant  in  their  minds :  they  teased 
me  to  hasten  the  measures  for  getting  every- 
thing in  readiness  for  obtaining  possession  of 
their  honey.  The  bees  in  the  meantime  were 
still  buzzing  furiously  round  the  tree.  I  pre- 
pared tobacco,  a  pipe,  some  clay,  chisels, 
hammers,  &c.  I  took  the  large  gourd  long 
intended  for  a  hive,  and  I  fitted  a  place  for  it, 
by  nailing  a  piece  of  board  on  a  branch  of 
the  tree ;  I  made  a  straw  roof  for  the  top,  to 
screen  it  from  the  sun  and  rain ;  and  as  all 
this  took  up  more  time  than  I  was  aware  of, 
we  deferred  the  attack  of  the  fortress  to  the 
following  day,  and  got  ready  for  a  sound 
sleep,  which  completed  the  cure  of  my  wound- 
ed patients. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Treatment  of  Bees ; —  Staircase; —  Training  of 
various  Animals; — Manufactures ,  &c. 

Next   morning,   almost   before   dawn,   all 
were  up  and  in  motion ;    the  bees  had  re- 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  457 

turned  to  their  cells,  and  I  stopped  the  pas- 
sages with  clay,  leaving  only  a  sufficient  ap- 
erture for  the  tube  of  my  pipe.  I  then 
smoked  as  much  as  was  requisite  to  stupify, 
without  killing  the  little  warlike  creatures. 
Not  having  a  cap  with  a  mask,  such  as  bee- 
catchers  usually  wear,  nor  even  gloves,  this 
precaution  was  necessary.  At  first  a  hum- 
ming was  heard  in  the  hollow  of  the  tree, 
and  a  noise  like  a  gathering  tempest,  which 
died  away  by  degrees.  All  was  become  calm, 
and  I  withdrew  my  tube  without  the  appear- 
ance of  a  single  bee.  Fritz  had  got  up  by 
me  :  we  then  began  with  a  chisel  and  a  small 
axe  to  cut  out  of  the  tree,  under  the  bees' 
hole  of  entrance,  a  piece  three  feet  square. 
Before  it  was  entirely  separated,  I  repeated 
the  fumigation,  lest  the  stupefaction  produced 
by  the  first  smoking  should  have  ceased,  or  the 
noise  we  had  been  just  making  revived  the 
bees.  As  soon  as  I  supposed  them  lulled 
again,  I  separated  from  the  trunk  the  piece  I 
had  cut  out,  producing  as  it  were  the  aspect  of 
a  window,  through  which  the  inside  of  the  tree 
was  laid  open  to  view;  and  we  were  filled  at 
once  with  joy  and  astonishment  on  beholding 


458  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

the  immense  and  wonderful  work  of  this  col- 
ony of  insects.  There  was  such  a  stock  of 
wax  and  honey,  that  we  feared  our  vessels 
wrould  be  insufficient  to  contain  it.  The  whole 
interior  of  the  tree  was  lined  with  fine  honey- 
combs :  I  cut  them  off  with  care,  and  put 
them  in  the  gourds  the  boys  constantly  sup- 
plied me  with.  When  I  had  somewhat  cleared 
the  cavity,  I  put  the  upper  combs,  in  which 
the  bees  had  assembled  in  clusters  and 
swarms,  into  the  gourd  which  was  to  serve 
as  a  hive,  and  placed  it  on  the  plank  I  had 
purposely  raised.  I  came  down  bringing 
with  me  the  rest  of  the  honey-combs,  with 
which  I  filled  a  small  cask,  previously  well 
washed  in  the  stream.  Some  I  kept  out  for 
a  treat  at  dinner ;  and  had  the  barrel  care- 
fully covered  with  cloths  and  planks,  that 
the  bees,  when  attracted  by  the  smell,  might 
be  unable  to  get  at  it.  We  assembled  round 
the  table,  and  regaled  ourselves  plentifully 
with  the  delicious  treat.  My  wife  then  put 
by  the  remainder ;  and  I  proposed  to  my 
sons  to.  go  back  to  the  tree,  to  prevent  the 
bees  from  swarming  again  there  on  being 
roused  from  their  stupor,  as  they  would  not 


i 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  459 

have  failed  to  do,  but  for  the  precaution  I 
took  of  passing  a  board  at  the  aperture,  and 
burning  a  few  handfuls  of  tobacco  on  it,  the 
smell  and  smoke  of  which   drove  them  back 
whenever   they   attempted    to   return.       At 
length  they  desisted,  and  became  gradually 
reconciled  to  their  new  residence,  where  their 
queen  no  doubt  had  settled  herself.     I  took 
this  opportunity  to  relate  to  my  children,  all 
I  had  read,  in  the  interesting  work  by  Mr. 
Huber  of  Geneva,  of  the  queen  bee,  this  be- 
loved and  respected  mother  of  her  subjects, 
who  take  care  of  and  guard  her,  work  for 
her,  nourish    the   rising   swarms,   make   the 
cells  in  which  they  are  to  lodge,  prepare  oth- 
ers of  a  different  structure,  as  well  as  nutri- 
ment for  the  young  queens  destined  to  lead 
forth   the    fresh    colonies.      These   accounts 
highly  entertained  my  youthful  auditory,  who 
almost  regretted  having  molested  the  repose 
of  a  fine  peaceable  kingdom  that  had  flour- 
ished so  long  without  interruption  in  the  huge 
trunk.     I  now  advised  that  all  should  watch 
during  the  night,  over  the  whole  provision  of 
honey  obtained  while  the  bees  were  torpid, 
who,  when  recovered,  would  not  fail  to  be 


460  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

troublesome,  and  come  in  legions  to  get  back 
to  their  property ;  and  to  this  end  we  threw 
ourselves  on  our  beds,  in  our  clothes,  to  take 
an  early  doze :  on  awakening  about  nightfall, 
we  found  the  bees  quiet  in  the  gourd,  or  set- 
tled in  clusters  upon  near  branches,  so  we 
went  expeditiously  to  business.  The  cask  of 
honey  was  emptied  into  a  kettle,  except  a  few 
prime  combs,  which  we  kept  for  daily  con- 
sumption ;  the  remainder,  mixed  with  a  little 
water,  was  set  over  a  gentle  fire,  and  reduced 
to  a  liquid  consistence,  strained  and  squeezed 
through  a  bag,  and  afterwards  poured  back 
into  the  cask,  which  was  left  upright,  and  un- 
covered all  night  to  cool.  In  the  morning 
the  wax  was  entirely  separated,  and  had  risen 
to  the  surface  in  a  compact  and  solid  cake 
that  was  easily  removed;  beneath  was  the 
purest,  most  beautiful  and  delicate  honey  that 
could  be  seen :  the  cask  was  then  carefully 
headed  again,  and  put  into  cool  ground  near 
our  wine-vessels.  This  task  accomplished,  I 
mounted  to  revisit  the  hive,  and  found  every 
thing  in  order ;  the  bees  going  forth  in 
swarms,  and  returning  loaded  with  wax,  from 
which  I  judged  they  were  forming  fresh  edi- 
. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  461 

fices  in  their  new  dwelling  place.  I  had  been 
surprised  that  the  numbers  occupying  the 
trunk  of  the  tree  should  find  room  in  the 
gourd,  till  I  perceived  the  clusters  upon  the 
branches,  and  I  thence  concluded  a  young 
queen  was  among  each  of  them.  In  conse- 
quence, I  procured  another  gourd,  into  which 
I  shook  them,  and  placed  it  by  the  former : 
thus  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  obtaining  at  an 
easy  rate  two  fine  hives  of  bees  in  activity. 

We  soon  after  these  operations  proceeded 
to  examine  the  inside  of  the  tree.  I  sounded 
it  with  a  pole  from  the  opening  I  had  made; 
and  a  stone  fastened  to  a  string  served  us  to 
sound  the  bottom,  and  thus  to  ascertain  the 
height  and  depth  of  the  cavity.  To  my  great 
surprise,  the  pole  penetrated  without  any  re- 
sistance to  the  branches  on  which  our  dwelling 
rested,  and  the  stone  descended  to  the  roots. 
The  trunk,  it  appeared,  had  wholly  lost  its 
pith,  and  most  of  its  wood  internally.  It 
seems  that  this  species  of  tree,  like  the  willow 
in  our  climates,  receive  nourishment  through 
the  bark ;  for  it  did  not  look  decayed,  and 
its  far-extended  branches  were  luxuriant  and 

beautiful  in  the  extreme.     I  determined  to 

SI 


462  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

begin  our  construction  in  its  capacious  hol- 
low that  very  day.  The  undertaking  ap- 
peared at  first  beyond  our  powers ;  but  in- 
telligence, patience,  time,  and  a  firm  resolu- 
tion, vanquished  all  obstacles.  We  were  not 
disposed  to  relax  in  any  of  these  requisites ; 
I  was  pleased  to  find  opportunity  to  keep 
my  sons  in  continual  action,  and  their  minds 
and  bodies  were  all  the  better  for  exertion. 
They  grew  tall  and  strong,  and  were  too 
much  engaged  to  regret,  in  ignoble  leisure, 
any  of  their  past  enjoyments  in  Europe. 

We  began  to  cut  into  the  side  of  the  tree, 
towards  the  sea,  a*  door-way  equal  in  dimen- 
sions to  the  door  of  the  captain's  cabin,  which 
we  had  removed  with  all  its  frame-work  and 
■windows.  We  next  cleared  away  from  the 
cavity  all  the  rotten  wood,  and  rendered  the 
interior  even  and  smooth,  leaving  sufficient 
thickness  for  cutting  out  resting  places  for 
the  winding  stairs,  without  injuring  the  bark. 
I  then  fixed  in  the  centre  the  trunk  of  a  tree 
about  twenty  feet  in  length,  and  a  foot  thick, 
completely  stripped  of  its  branches,  in  order 
to  carry  my  winding  staircase  round  it :  on 
the  outside  of  this  trunk,  and  the  inside  of  the 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  463 

cavity  of  our  own  tree,  we  formed  grooves,  so 
calculated  as  to  correspond  with  the  distances 
at  which  the  boards  were  to  be  placed  to  form 
the  stairs.  These  were  continued  till  I  had 
got  to  the  height  of  the  trunk  round  which 
they  turned.  I  made  two  more  apertures  at 
suitable  distances,  and  thus  completely  lighted 
the  whole  ascent.  I  also  effected  an  opening 
near  our  room,  that  I  might  more  conveni- 
ently finish  the  upper  part  of  the  staircase. 
A  second  trunk  was  fixed  upon  the  first,  and 
firmly  sustained  with  screws  and  transverse 
beams.  It  was  surrounded,  like  the  other, 
with  stairs  cut  slopingly ;  ^ind  thus  we  hap- 
pily effected  the  stupendous  undertaking  of 
conducting  it  to  the  level  of  our  bedchamber. 
Here  I  made  another  door  directly  into-  it. 
To  render  it  more  solid  and  agreeable,  I 
closed  the  spaces  between  the  stairs  with 
plank.  I  then  fastened  two  strong  ropes, 
the  one  descending  the  length  of  the  central 
trunk,  the  other  along  the  inside  of  our  large 
tree,  to  assist  in  case  of  slipping.  I  fixed  the 
sash-windows  taken  from  the  captain's  cabin 
in  the  apertures  we  had  made  to  give  light 
to  the  stairs ;  and  I  then  found  I  could  ad4 


464  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

nothing  further  to  my  design.  When  the 
whole  was  complete,  it  was  so  pretty,  solids 
and  convenient,  that  we  were  never  tired  of 
going  up  and  coming  down  it.  Our  success 
was  owing  to  the  firm  resolution  adopted  by 
all,  to  persevere  in  patient  industry  and  con- 
stant efforts  to  the  end ;  and  it  employed  us 
many  weeks.  I  have  now  to  relate  some  oc- 
currences that  took  place  during  the  construc- 
tion of  our  staircase. 

A  few  days  after  the  commencement  of  our 
undertaking,  our  brave  Flora  whelped  us  six 
young  puppies,  all  healthy,  and  likely  to  live. 
The  number  was  so  alarming,  that  I  was  un- 
der the  necessity  of  drowning  all  but  a  male 
and  female  to  keep  up  the  breed.  A  few 
days  later,  the  two  she-goats  gave  us  two 
kids,  and  our  ewes  five  lambs ;  so  that  we 
now  saw  ourselves  in  possession  of  a  pretty 
flock :  but  lest  the  domestic  animals  should 
follow  the  example  of  the  ass,  and  run  away 
from  us,  I  tied  a  bell  to  the  neck  of  each. 
We  had  found  a  sufficient  number  of  bells  in 
the  vessel,  which  had  been  shipped  for  trad- 
ing with  the  savages ;  it  being  one  of  the  ar- 
ticles they  most  value.     We  could  now  imme- 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  465 

diately  trace  a  deserter  by  the  sound,  and 
bring  it  back  to  the  fold. 

Next  to  the  winding  stairs,  my  chief  occu- 
pation was  the  management  of  the  young 
buffalo,  whose  wound  in  the  nose  was  quite 
healed,  so  that  I  could  lead  it  at  will  with  a 
cord  or  stick  passed  through  the  orifice,  as 
the  Caffrarians  do.  I  preferred  the  stick, 
which  answered  the  purpose  of  a  bit,  and  I 
resolved  to  break  in  this  spirited  beast  for 
riding  as  well  as  drawing.  It  was  already 
used  to  the  shafts,  and  very  tractable  in 
them ;  but  I  had  more  trouble  in  inuring  him 
to  the  rider,  and  to  wear  a  girth,  having  made 
one  out  of  the  old  buffalo's  hide.  I  formed 
a  sort  of  saddle  with  sail-cloth,  and  tacked  it 
to  the  girth.  Upon  this  I  fixed  a  burden, 
which  I  increased  progressively.  I  was  in- 
defatigable in  the  training  of  the  animal,  and 
soon  brought  it  to  carry,  patiently,  large  bags 
of  potatoes,  salt,  and  other  articles,  in  the 
place  of  the  ass.  The  monkey  was  his  first 
rider,  who  stuck  so  close  to  the  saddle,  that 
in  spite  of  the  plunging  and  kicking  of  the 
buffalo,  it  was  not  thrown.  Francis  was 
then  tried,  as  the  lightest  of  the  family ;  but 


466  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

throughout  his  excursion  I  led  the  beast  with 
a  halter,  that  it  might  not  throw  him  offr 
Jack  now  showed  some  impatience  to  mount 
the  animal  in  his  turn.  I  next  passed  the 
stick  through  the  buffalo's  nose,  and  tied 
strong  packthread  at  each  end  of  it,  bringing 
them  together  over  the  neck  of  the  animal, 
and  put  this  new-fangled  bridle  into  the  hands 
of  the  young  rider,  directing  him  how  to  use 
it.  For  a  time  the  lad  kept  his  saddle,  not- 
withstanding the  unruly  gestures  of  the  crea- 
ture ;  at  length  a  side  jolt  threw  him  on  the 
sand,  without  his  receiving  much  injury.  Er- 
nest, Fritz,  and  lastly  myself,  got  on  success- 
ively, with  more  or  less  effect.  His  trotting 
shook  us  to  the  very  centre,  the  rapidity  of 
his  gallop  turned  us  giddy,  and  our  lessons 
in  horsemanship  were  reiterated  many  days 
before  the  animal  was  tamed,  and  could  be 
rode  with  either  safety  or  pleasure.  At  last, 
however,  we  succeeded  without  any  serious 
accident;  and  the  strength  and  swiftness 
of  our  saddled  buffalo  were  prodigious.  It 
seemed  to  sport  with  the  heaviest  loads.  My 
three  eldest  boys  mounted  it  together  now 
and  then,   and  it  ran  with  them  with  the 


TRAINING  THE  BUPFALO. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  467 

swiftness  of  lightning.  By  continued  atten- 
tions it  at  length  became  extremely  docile  :  it 
was  not  in  the  least  apt  to  start ;  and  I  re- 
ally felt  satisfaction  in  being  thus  enabled  to 
make  my  sons  expert  riders,  so  that  if  they 
should  ever  have  horses,  they  might  get  on 
the  most  restive  and  fiery  without  fear :  — 
none  could  be  compared  to  our  young  buf- 
falo ;  and  the  ass,  which  I  had  intended  to 
employ  in  the  same  way,  was  far  surpassed 
by  this  new  member  of  our  family.  Fritz 
and  Jack,  with  my  instructions,  amused  them- 
selves in  training  the  animal  as  horses  are 
exercised  in  a  ridinghouse :  and  by  means  of 
the  little  stick  through  the  nose,  they  were 
able  to  do  what  they  pleased  with  him. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this,  Fritz  did  not  neg- 
lect his  eagle  :  he  daily  shot  some  small  birds 
which  he  gave  it  to  eat,  placing  them  some 
times  between  the  buffalo's  horns,  sometimes 
on  the  back  of  one  of  the  hens,  or  of  the  fla- 
mingo, or  on  a  shelf,  or  at  the  end  of  a  stick, 
in  order  to  teach  it  to  pounce  like  a  falcon 
upon  other  birds.  He  taught  it  to  perch  on 
his  wrist  whenever  he  called  or  whistled  to  it ; 
but  some  time  elapsed  before  he  could  trust 


468  THE   SWISS  FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

it  to  soar  without  securing  its  return  by  a 
long  string,  apprehending  its  bold  and  wild 
nature  would  prompt  it  to  take  a  distant  and 
farewell  flight  from  us. 

Our  whole  company,  including  even  the  in- 
ert Ernest,  was  infected  with  the  passion  of 
becoming  instructors.  Ernest  tried  his  tal- 
ents in  this  way  with  his  monkey,  who  seldom 
failed  to  furnish  him  with  work.  It  was  no 
poor  specimen  of  the  ludicrous  to  see  the  lad ; 
he  whose  movements  were  habitually  slow  and 
studied,  now  constrained  to  skip  and  jump, 
and  play  a  thousand  antics  with  his  pupil  dur- 
ing training  hours,  and  throughout,  against 
the  grain,  carrying  forward  the  lesson  the 
grotesque  mimic  was  condemned  to  learn,  of 
bearing  small  loads,  climbing  the  cocoa-trees, 
and  to  fetch  and  bring  the  nuts.  He  and 
Jack  made  a  little  hamper  of  rushes,  very 
light ;  they  put  three  straps  to  it,  two  of 
which  passed  under  the  fore,  and  one  between 
the  hind  legs  of  the  animal,  and  were  then 
fastened  to  a  belt  in  front,  to  keep  the  ham- 
per steady  on  the  back  of  the  mischievous 
urchin.  This  apparatus  was  at  first  intoler- 
able to  poor  Knips:    he  gnashed  his  teeth, 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  469 

rolled  on  the  ground,  jumping  like  a  mad 
creature,  and  did  every  thing  to  get  rid  of  it : 
but  all  in  vain,  for  education  was  the  stand- 
ing order,  and  he  soon  found  he  must  submit. 
The  hamper  was  left  on  day  and  night ;  its 
sole  food  was  what  was  thrown  into  it ;  and 
in  a  short  time  pug  was  so  much  accustomed 
to  the  burden,  that  he  began  to  spit  and  growl 
whenever  we  attempted  to  take  it  off,  and 
every  thing  given  to  the  creature  to  hold  was 
instantly  thrown  into  it.  Knips  became  at 
length  a  useful  member  of  our  society ;  but 
he  would  only  obey  Ernest,  whom  he  at  once 
loved  and  feared,  thus  affording  a  proof  of  at 
least  one  of  the  great  ends  of  all  instruction. 
These  different  occupations  filled  up  sev- 
eral hours  of  the  day ;  when,  after  working 
at  our  stairs,  we  assembled  in  the  evening 
round  our  best  of  friends,  the  good  mother, 
to  rest  ourselves  :  and  forming  a  little  circle, 
every  individual  of  which  was  affectionate 
and  cheerful,  it  was  her  turn  to  give  us  some 
agreeable  and  less  fatiguing  occupation  in  the 
domestic  concerns  of  Falcon's  Stream ;  such 
as  improving  our  candle  manufactory,  by 
blending  the  berry  and  the  bees'  wax,  and 


470  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   KOEINSON. 

employing  the  reed-moulds  invented  by  Jack : 
but  having  found  some  difficulty  in  taking  out 
the  candles  when  cold,  I  adopted  the  plan  of 
dividing  the  moulds,  cleaning  the  inside,  and 
rubbing  it  over  with  a  little  butter,  to  prevent 
the  wax  from  adhering  to  it ;  then  to  rejoin 
both  halves  with  a  band  that  could  be  loos- 
ened at  pleasure,  to  facilitate  the  extraction 
of  the  tapers.  The  wicks  gave -us  most  trou- 
ble as  we  had  no  cotton.  We  tried  with  mod- 
erate success  the  fibrous  threads  of  the  kar- 
rata,  and  those  of  the  algava  or  flame-wood ; 
but  each  had  the  inconvenience  of  becoming 
a  sort  of  coal  or  cinder.  The  production 
which  gave  us  the  most  satisfaction  was  the 
pith  of  a  species  of  elder;  but  it  did  not, 
however,  lessen  our  desire  to  discover  the 
only  appropriate  ingredient,  the  cotton-tree. 
We  now  began  to  think  of  manufacturing 
our  impenetrable  boots  without  seams,  of  the 
caoutchouc  or  elastic  gum.  I  began  with  a 
pair  for  myself;  and  I  encouraged  my  chil- 
dren to  afford  a  specimen  of  their  industry, 
by  trying  to  form  some  flasks  and  cups  that 
could  not  break.  They  began  by  making 
some  clay  moulds,  which  they  covered  with 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  471 

layers  of  gum,  agreeably  to  the  instructions 
I  had  given  them.  In  the  meanwhile  I  filled 
a  pair  of  stockings  with  sand,  and  covered 
them  with  a  layer  of  clay,  which  I  first  dried 
in  the  shade,  and  afterwards  in  the  sun.  I 
then  took  a  sole  of  buffalo-leather,  well 
beaten,  and  studded  round  with  tacks,  which 
served  me  to  fix  it  under  the  foot  of  the 
stocking ;  after  this  I  poured  the  liquid  gum 
into  all  the  interstices,  which  on  drying  pro- 
duced a  close  adhesion  between  the  leather 
and  stocking  sole.  I  next  proceeded  to 
smear  the  whole  "with  a  coat  of  resin  of  a  tol- 
erable thickness ;  and  as  soon  as  this  layer 
was  dried  on,  I  put  on  another,  and  so  on  till 
I  had  applied  a  sufficiency  with  my  brush. 
After  this  I  emptied  the  sand,  drew  out  the 
stocking,  removed  the  hardened  clay,  shook 
off  the  dust,  and  thus  obtained  a  pair  of 
seamless  boots,  as  finished  as  if  made  by  the 
best  English  workman ;  being  pliant,  warm, 
soft,  smooth,  and  completely  water-proof.  [ 
hung  them  up  directly,  that  they  might  dry 
without  shrinking.  They  fitted  uncommonly 
well ;  and  my  four  lads  were  so  highly  pleased 
with   their   appearance,  that  they   skipped 


472  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

about  with  joy,  as  they  asked  me  to  make 
each  of  them  a.  pair.  I  refrained  from  any 
promise,  because  I  wished  to  ascertain  their 
strength  previously,  and  to  compare  them 
with  boots  made  out  of  mere  buffalo-leather. 
Of  these  I  at  once  began  a  pair  for  Fritz, 
with  a  piece  of  the  slaughtered  buffalo's  skin. 
They  gave  far  more  trouble  than  those  man- 
ufactured with  the  caoutchouc,  .which  I  used 
to  cover  the  seams  and  render  them  less  per- 
vious to  water.  The  work  turned  out  very 
imperfect,  and  so  inferior  to  my  incompara- 
ble boots,  that  Fritz  wore  them  reluctantly ; 
and  the  more  so,  as  his  brother  shouted  with 
laughter  at  the  difficulty  he  had  to  run  in 
them. 

We  had  also  been  engaged  in  the  construc- 
tion of  our  fountain,  which  afforded  a  per- 
petual source  of  pleasure  to  my  wife,  and  in- 
deed to  all  of  us.  In  the  upper  part  of  the 
stream  we  built  with  stakes  and  stones  a  kind 
of  dam,  that  raised  the  water  sufficiently  to 
convey  it  into,  the  palm-tree  troughs  ;  and  af- 
terwards, by  means  of  a  gentle  slope,  to  glide 
on  contiguous  to  our  habitation,  where  it  fell 
into  the  tortoise-shell  basin,  which  we  had 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  473 

elevated  on  stones  to  a  certain  height  for  our 
convenience ;  and  it  was  so  contrived,  that 
the  redundant  water  passed  off  through  a 
cane  pipe  fitted  to  it.  I  placed  two  sticks 
athwart  each  other  for  the  gourds,  that  served 
as  pails,  to  rest  on ;  and  we  thus  produced, 
close  to  our  abode,  an  agreeable  fountain,  de- 
lighting with  its  rill,  and  supplying  us  with  a 
pure  crystal  fluid,  such  as  we  frequently  could 
not  get  when  we  drew  our  water  from  the  bed 
of  the  river,  which  was  often  encumbered  with 
the  leaves  and  earth  fallen  into  it,  or  rendered 
turbid  by  our  waterfowls.  The  only  incon- 
venience was,  that  the  water  flowing  in  this 
open  state  through  the  narrow  channels  in  a 
slender  stream,  was  heated,  and  not  refresh- 
ing when  it  reached  us.  I  resolved  to  obvi- 
ate this  inconvenience  at  my  future  leisure, 
by  employing,  instead  of  the  uncovered  con- 
duits, large  bamboo  canes,  fixed  deep  enough 
in  the  ground  to  keep  the  water  cool.  In 
waiting  the  execution  of  this  design,  we  felt 
pleasure  in  the  new  acquisition ;  and  Fritz, 
who  had  suggested  the  notion,  received  his 
tribute  of  praise  from  all. 


474  THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Wild  Ass; —  Difficulty  in  or  editing  it; — The 
Heath-Fowl's  Nest. 

We  were  scarcely  up  one  morning,  and  had 
got  to  work  in  putting  the  last  hand  to  oui 
winding  staircase,  when  we  heard  at  a  dis- 
tance two  strange  kind  of  voices,  that  resem- 
bled the  howlings  of  wild  beasts,  mixed  with 
hissings  and  sounds  of  some  creature  at  its 
last  gasp  ;  and  I  was  not  without  uneasiness  : 
our  dogs  too  pricked  up  their  ears,  and 
seemed  to  whet  their  teeth  for  a  sanguinary 
combat  with  a  dangerous  enemy. 

From  their  looks  we  judged  it  prudent  to 
put  ourselves  in  a  state  of  defense  ;  we  loaded 
our  guns  and  pistols,  placed  them  together 
within  our  castle  in  the  tree,  and  prepared 
to  repel  vigorously  any  hostile  attack  from 
that  quarter.  The  howlings  having  ceased  an 
instant,  I  descended  from  our  citadel,  well 
armed,  and  put  on  our  two  faithful  guardians 


THE  SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  475 

their  spiked  collars  and  side-guards :  I  as- 
sembled our  cattle  about  the  tree  to  have 
them  in  sight,  and  I  reascended  to  look 
around  for  the  enemy's  approach.  Jack 
■wished  they  might  be  lions  —  "I  should 
like,"  said  he,  to  have  a  near  view  of  the 
king  of  beasts,  and  should  not  be  in  the  least 
afraid  of  him. 

At  this  instant  the  howlings  were  renewed, 
and  almost  close  to  us.  Fritz  got  as  near 
the  spot  as  he  could,  listened  attentively  and 
with  eager  looks,  then  threw  down  his  gun, 
and  burst  into  a  loud  laughter,  exclaiming, 
"  Father,  it  is  our  ass !  the  deserter  comes 
back  to  us,  chanting  the  hymn  of  return: 
listen  !  do  you  not  hear  his  melodious  bray- 
ings  in  all  the  varieties  of  the  gamut?  "  I 
listened,  and  a  fresh  roar,  in  sounds  un- 
questionable, raised  loud  peals  of  laughter, 
amongst  us  ;  then  followed  the  usual  train  of 
jests  and  mutual  banter  at  the  alarm  we  had 
one  and  all  betrayed.  Shortly  after,  we  had 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  among  the  trees  our 
old  friend  Grizzle,  moving  towards  us  leis- 
urely, and  stopping  now  and  then  to  browse ; 
but  to  our  great  joy,  he  was  accompanied  by 

32 


476  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

one  of  his  own  species,  of  very  superior 
beauty ;  and  when  it  was  nearer,  I  knew  it 
to  be  a  fine  onagra,  or  wild  ass,  which  I  con- 
ceived a  strong  desire  to  possess,  though  at 
the  same  time  aware  of  the  extreme  difficulty 
there  would  be  in  taming  and  rendering  him 
subject  to  the  use  of  man.  Some  writers, 
who  have  described  it  under  the  name  of  the 
(Eigitai^  (or  long-eared  horse),  given  it  by 
the  Tartars,  affirm  that  the  taming  it  has 
been  ever  found  impracticable  ;  but  my  mind 
furnished  an  idea  on  the  subject,  which  I  was 
resolved  to  act  on  if  I  got  possession  of  the 
handsome  creature.  Y/ithout  delay  I  de- 
scended the  ladder  with  Fritz,  desiring  his 
brothers  to  keep  still ;  and  I  consulted  my 
privy-counselor  on  the  means  of  surprising 
and  taking  the  stranger  captive. 

I  got  ready,  as  soon  as  possible,  a  long 
cord  with  a  running  knot,  one  end  of  which 
I  tied  fast  to  the  root  of  a  tree ;  the  noose 
was  kept  open  with  a  little  stick  slightly  fixed 
in  the  opening,  so  as  to  fall  of  itself  on  the 
cord  being  thrown  round  the  neck  of  the  an- 
imal, whose  efforts  to  escape  would  draw  the 
knot  closer.     I  also  prepared  a  piece  of  bam- 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  477 

boo  about  two  feet  long,  which  I  split  at  the 
bottom,  and  tied  fast  at  top,  to  serve  as  nip- 
pers.   Fritz  attentively  examined  my  contriv- 
ance, without  seeing  the  use  of  it.    Prompted 
by  the  impatience  of  youth,  he  took  the  ball- 
sling,  and  proposed  aiming  at  the  wild  ass 
with  it,  which  he  said  was  the  shortest  way 
of  proceeding.     I  declined  adopting  this  Pat- 
agonian  method,  fearing  the  attempt  might 
fail,  and  the  beautiful  creature  avail  itself  of 
its  natural  velocity  to  evade  us  beyond  re- 
covery ;  I  therefore  told  him  my  project  of 
catching  it  in  the  noose,  which  I  gave  him  to 
manage,  as  being  nimbler  and  more  expert 
than  myself.     The  two  asses  drew  nearer  and 
nearer  to  us.     Fritz  holding  in  his  hand  the 
open  noose,  moved  softly  on  from  behind  the 
tree  where  we  were  concealed,  and  advanced 
as  far  as  the  length  of  the  rope  allowed  him  : 
the  onagra  started  on  perceiving  a  human  fig- 
ure ;   it  sprang  some  paces  backward,   then 
stopped  as  if  to  examine  the  unknown  form  ; 
but  as  Fritz  now  remained  quite  still,  the  an- 
imal resumed  its  composure,  and  continued  to 
browse.     Soon  after  he  approached  the  old 
ass,  hoping  that  the  confidence  that  would  be 


478  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROEINSON. 

shown  by  it,  would  raise  a  similar  feeling  in 
the  stranger :  he  held  out  a  handful  of  oats 
mixed  with  salt ;  our  ass  instantly  ran  up  to 
take  its  favorite  food,  and  greedily  devoured 
it ;  this  was  quickly  perceived  by  the  other. 
It  drew  near,  raised  its  head,  breathed 
strongly,  and  came  up  so  close,  that  Fritz, 
seizing  the  opportunity,  succeeded  in  throw- 
ing the  rope  round  its  neck ;  but  the  motion 
and  stroke  so  affrighted  the  beast,  that  it  in- 
stantly sprang  off.  It  was  soon  checked  by 
the  cord,  which,  in  compressing  the  neck,  al- 
most stopped  its  breath  :  it  could  go  no  far- 
ther, and,  after  many  exhausting  efforts,  it 
sunk  panting  for  breath  upon  the  ground.  I 
hastened  to  loosen  the  cord,  and  prevent  its 
being  strangled.  I  then  quickly  threw  our 
ass's  halter  over  its  head ;  I  fixed  the  nose 
in  my  split  cane,  which  I  secured  at  the  bot- 
tom with  packthread.  Thus  I  succeeded  in 
subduing  the  first  alarm  of  this  wild  animal, 
as  farriers  shoe  a  horse  for  the  first  time.  I 
wholly  removed  the  noose  that  seemed  to 
bring  the  creature  into  a  dangerous  situa- 
tion;  I  fastened  the  halter  with  two  long 
ropes  to  two  roots  near  us,  on  the  right  and 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  479 

left,  and  let  the  animal  recover  itself,  notic- 
ing its  actions,  and  devising  the  best  way  to 
tame  it  in  the  completest  manner. 

•The  rest  of  my  family  had  by  this  time 
come  down  from  the  tree,  and  beheld  the  fine 
creature  with  admiration,  its  graceful  shape, 
and  well-turned  limbs,  which  placed  it  so 
much  above  the  ass,  and  nearly  raised  it  to 
the  noble  structure  of  the  horse.  In  a  few 
moments  the  onagra  got  up  again,  struck  fu- 
riously with  its  foot,  and  seemed  resolved  to 
free  itself  from  all  bonds :  but  the  pain  of 
its  nose,  which  wTas  grasped  and  violently 
squeezed  in  the  bamboo,  forced  it  to  lie  down 
again.  Fritz  and  I  now  gently  undid  the 
cords,  and  half  led,  half  dragged  it,  between 
two  roots  closely  connected,  to  which  we  fast- 
ened it  afresh,  so  as  to  give  the  least  scope 
for  motion,  and  thus  render  its  escape  im- 
practicable, whilst  it  enabled  us  to  approach 
securely,  and  examine  the  valuable  capture 
wTe  had  made.  We  also  guarded  against 
master  Grizzle  playing  truant  again,  and  tied 
him  fast  with  a  new  halter,  confining  his  fore- 
legs with  a  rope.  I  then  fastened  it  and  the 
wild  ass  side  by  side,  and  put  before  both 


480  THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

plenty  of  good  provender  to  solace  their  im- 
patience of  captivity. 

We  had  now  the  additional  occupation  of 
training  the  onagra  for  our  service  or  our 
pleasure,  as  might  turn  out  to  be  most  prac- 
ticable :  my  boys  exulted  in  the  idea  of  riding 
it,  and  we  repeatedly  congratulated  each 
other  on  the  good  fortune  which  had  thus  re- 
sulted from  the  flight  of  our  ass.  Yet  I  did 
not  conceal  that  we  should  have  many  difficul- 
ties to  encounter ^n  taming  it,  though  it  seem- 
ed very  young,  and  not  even  to  have  reached 
its  full  growth.  But  I  was  inclined  to  think 
proper  means  had  not  been  hitherto  adopted, 
and  that  the  hunters,  almost  as  savage  as  the 
animals  themselves,  had  not  employed  suffi- 
cient art  and  patience,  being  probably  uncon- 
scious of  the  advantages  of  either.  I  there- 
fore determined  to  resort  to  all  possible 
measures.  I  let  the  nippers  remain  on  its 
nose,  which  appeared  to  distress  him  greatly, 
though  we  could  plainly  perceive  their  good 
effect  in  subduing  the  creature ;  for  without 
them  no  one  could  have  ventured  to  approach 
him.  I  took  them  off,  however,  at  times, 
when  I  gave  it  food,  to  render  eating  easier, 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  481 

and  I  began,  as  with  the  buffalo,  by  placing 
a  bundle  of  sail-cloth  on  its  back,  to  inure  it 
to  carry.  When  accustomed  to  the  load,  I 
strpve  to  render  the  beast  by  degrees  still 
more  docile,  by  hunger  and  thirst ;  and  I  ob- 
served with  pleasure,  that  when  it  had  fasted 
a  little  and  I  supplied  it  with  food,  its  look 
and  actions  were  less  wild.  I  also  compelled 
the  animal  to  keep  erect  on  its  four  legs,  by 
drawing  the  cords  closer  that  fastened  it  to 
the  roots,  in  order  to  subdue  gradually  by  fa- 
tigue its  natural  ferocity.  The  children  came 
in  turns  to  play  with  it,  and  scratch  its  ears 
gently,  which  were  remarkably  tender ;  and 
it  was  on  these  I  resolved  to  make  my  last 
trial,  if  all  other  endeavors  failed.  For  a 
long  time  we  despaired  of  success  ;  the  ona- 
gra  made  furious  starts  and  leaps  when  any 
of  us  went  near  it,  kicked  with  its  hind  feet, 
and  even  attempted  to  bite  those  who  touched 
it.  This  obliged  me  to  have  recourse  to  a 
muzzle,  which  I  managed  with  rushes,  and 
put  on  when  it  was  not  feeding.  To  avoid 
being  struck  by  its  hind  feet,  I  partially  con- 
fined them,  by  fastening  them  to  the  forefeet 
with  cords,  which,  however,  I  left  moderately 


482  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

loose,  that  we  might  not  encroach  too  much 
upon  the  motion  necessary  for  its  health.  It 
was  at  length  familiarized  to  this  discipline, 
and  was  no  longer  in  a  rage  when  we  ab- 
proached,  but  grew  less  impatient  daily,  and 
bore  to  be  handled  and  stroked. 

At  last  we  ventured  to  free  it  by  degrees 
from  its  restraints,  and  to  ride  it  as  we  had 
done  with  the  buffalo,  still  keeping  the  fore- 
feet tied  :  but  notwithstanding  this  precaution 
and  every  preceding  means,  it  proved  as 
fierce  and  unruly  as  ever  for  the  moment. 
The  monkey,  who  at  first  put  on  its  back, 
held  on  pretty  well  by  clinging  to  its  mane, 
from  which  it  was  suspended  as  often  as  the 
onagra  furiously  reared  and  plunged ;  it  was 
therefore  for  the  present  impracticable  for 
either  of  my  sons  to  get  upon  it.  The  per- 
verse beast  baffled  all  our  efforts,  and  the 
perilous  task  of  breaking  it  was  still  to  be 
persevered  in  with  terror  and  apprehension. 
In  the  stable  it  seemed  tolerably  quiet  and 
gentle ;  but  the  moment  it  was  in  any  degree 
unshackled,  it  became  wholly  ferocious  and 
unmanageable. 

I  was  at  length  reduced  to  my  last  expe- 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  483 

dient,  but  not  without  much  regret,  as  I  re- 
solved, if  it  did  not  answer,  to  restore  the 
animal  to  full  liberty.  I  tried  to  mount  the 
onagra,  and  just  as  in  the  act  of  rearing  up 
violently  to  prevent  me,  I  seized  with  my 
teeth  one  of  the  long  ears  of  the  enraged 
creature,  and  bit  it  till  it  bled ;  instantly  it 
stood  almost  erect  on  its  hind  feet,  motion- 
less, and  as  stiff  as  a  stake ;  it  soon  lowered 
itself  by  degrees,  while  I  still  held  its  ear  be- 
tween my  teeth.  Fritz  seized  the  moment, 
and  sprang  on  its  back ;  Jack,  with  the  help 
of  his  mother,  did  the  same,  holding  by  his 
brother,  who  on  his  part  clung  to  the  girth. 
When  both  assured  me  they  were  firmly 
seated,  I  let  go  the  ear :  the  onagra  made  a 
few  springs  less  violent  than  the  former,  and 
checked  by  the  cords  on  its  feet,  it  gradually 
submitted,  began  to  trot  up  and'  down  more 
quietly,  and  ultimately  grew  so  tractable,  that 
riding  it  became  one  of  our  chief  pleasures. 
My  lads  were  soon  expert  horsemen;  and 
their  horse,  though  rather  long-eared,  was 
very  handsome  and  well  broken  in.  Thus  pa- 
tience on  our  parts  conquered  a  serious  diffi- 
culty, and  gained  for  us  a  proud  advantage. 


484  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

I  now  explained  to  my  companions  that  I 
learned  this  extraordinary  mode  of  taming 
from  a  horsebreaker  I  met  with  by  chance. 
He  had  lived  long  in  America,  and  carried 
on  the  skin-trade  with  the  savages,  to  whom 
he  took,  in  exchange,  various  European 
goods.  He  employed  in  these  journeys  half- 
tamed  horses  of  the  southern  provinces  of 
that  country,  which  are  caught  in  snares  or 
with  nooses.  They  are  at  first  unruly,  and 
resist-  burdens ;  but  as  soon  as  the  hunter 
bites  one  of  their  ears,  they  become  mild  and 
submissive,  and  at  last  so  docile  that  any 
thing  that  may  be  done  with  them.  The 
journey  is  continued  through  forests  and 
over  heaths  to  the  dwellings  of  the  savages ; 
skins  are  given  in  barter  for  the  goods  brought 
them,  with  which  the  horses  are  reloaded. 
They  set  out  again  on  their  return,  and  are 
directed  by  the  compass  and  stars  to  the  Eu- 
ropean settlements,  where  they  profitably  dis 
pose  of  their  skins  and  horses. 

In  a  few  weeks  the  onagra  was  so  effect- 
ually tamed,  that  we  all  could  mount  it  with- 
out fear :  I  still,  however,  kept  his  tyro  fore- 
legs confined  together  with  the  cord,  to  mod- 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  485 

erate  the  extreme  swiftness  of  its  running. 
In  the  room  of  a. bit,  I  contrived  a  curb,  and 
with  this  and  a  good  bite  applied,  as  wanted, 
to  the  ear,  it  went  to  right  or  left  at  the  will 
of  the  rider.  Now  and  then  I  mounted  it 
myself,  and  not  without  an  emotion  of  pride 
at  my  success  in  subduing  an  animal  that 
had  been  considered  by  travelers  and  natu- 
ralists as  absolutely  beyond  the  power  of  man 
to  tame.  But  how  superior  was  my  gratifi- 
cation, on  seeing  Fritz  spring  at  any  time  on 
the  creature's  back,  drive  along  our  avenue 
like  lightning,  and  do  what  he  pleased  with 
it,  in  depicting  to  my  fond  imagination,  that 
even  on  a  desert  unknown  island,  I  could 
qualify  my  dear  children  to  re-enter  society, 
and  become  in  such  respects  its  ornament ! 
In  beholding  their  physical  strength  and  na- 
tive graces  unfold  themselves,  and  these  keep- 
ing pace  with  the  improvement  of  their  intel- 
ligence and  their  judgment ;  and  in  antici- 
pating that,  buried  as  they  were  in  a  distant 
retreat,  far  from  the  tumult  of  the  world,  and 
all  that  excites  the  passions,  their  sentiments 
would  be  formed  in  exact  conformity  to  the 
paternal  feelings  of  my  heart !     I  had  not 


486  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

lost  the  hope  that  we  should  one  day  return 
to  Europe  in  some  vessel  chance  might  throw 
on  our  coast,  or  even  with  the  aid  of  our  pin- 
nace :  but  I  felt,  at  the  same  time,  and  my 
wife  still  more,  that  we  should  not  leave  the 
island  without  a  lively  regret,  and  I  deter- 
mined to  pursue  my  arrangements  as  if  we 
were  to  close  existence  on  a  spot  where  all 
around  us  prospered. 

During  the  training  of  our  horse,  which  we 
named  Liphtfoot,  a  triple  brood  of  our  hens 
had  given  us  a  crowd  of  little  feathered  be- 
ings ;  forty  of  these  at  least  were  chirping 
and  hopping  about  us,  to  the  great  satisfac- 
tion of  my  wife,  whose  zealous  care  of  them 
sometimes  made  me  smile.  Some  of  these 
we  kept  near  us,  while  others  were  sent  in 
small  colonies  to  feed  and  breed  in  the  desert, 
where  we  could  find  them  as  they  were  wanted 
for  our  use. 

This  increase  of  our  poultry  reminded  us 
of  an  undertaking  we  had  long  thought  of, 
and  was  not  in  prudence  to  be  deferred  any 
longer ;  this  was  the  building,  between  the 
roots  of  our  great  tree,  covered  sheds  for  all 
our  bipeds  and  quadrupeds.     The  rainy  sea- 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  487 

son,  which  is  the  winter  of  these  countries, 
was  drawing  near,  and  to  avoid  losing  most 
of  our  stock,  it  was  requisite  to  shelter  it. 

We  began  by  forming  a  kind  of  roof  above 
the  arched  roots  of  our  tree,  and  employed 
bamboo  canes  for  the  purpose :  the  longest 
and  strongest  supported  the  roofing  in  the 
place  of  columns,  the  smaller  more  closely 
united  and  composed  the  roof  itself.  I  filled 
up  the  interstices  with  moss  and  clay,  and  I 
spread  over  the  whole  a  thick  coat  of  tar. 
By  these  means  I  formed  a  compact  and 
solid  covering,  capable  of  bearing  pressure. 
I  then  made  a  railing  round  it,  which  gave 
the  appearance  of  a  pretty  balcony,  under 
which,  between  the  roots,  were  various  stalls 
sheltered  from  rain  and  sun,  that  could  be 
easily  shut  and  separated  from  each  other  by 
means  of  planks  nailed  upon  the  roots  :  part 
of  them  were  calculated  to  serve  as  a  stable 
and  yard,  part  as  an  eating-room,  a  store- 
room, &c,  and  as  a  hayloft  to  keep  our  hay 
and  provisions  dry  in.  This  work  was  soon 
completed ;  but  afterwards  it  was  necessary 
to  fill  these  places  with  stores  of  every  kind 
for  our  supply  throughout  the  wet  season. 


488  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

In  this  task  we  engaged  diligently,  and  went 
daily  here  and  there  with  our  cart  to  collect 
every  thing  useful,  and  that  might  give  us 
employment  when  the  weather  prevented  our 
going  far. 

One  evening,  on  our  return  from  digging 
up  potatoes,  as  our  cart  loaded  with  bags, 
drawn  by  the  buffalo,  ass  and  cow,  was  gently 
rolling  along,  seeing  still  a  vacant  place  in 
the  vehicle,  I  advised  my  wife  to  go  home 
with  the  two  youngest  boys,  whilst  I  went 
round  by  the  wood  of  oaks  with  Ernest  and 
Fritz,  to  gather  as  many  sweet  acorns  as  we 
could  find  room  for.  We  had  still  some 
empty  sacks.  Ernest  was  accompanied  by 
his  monkey,  who  seldom  left,  him ;  and  Fritz, 
horseman  like,  was  on  his  dear  onagra,  which 
he  had  appropriated  to  himself,  inasmuch  as 
he  had  helped  to  take  and  tame  it,  and  in- 
deed because  he  knew  how  to  manage  it  bet- 
ter than  his  brothers.  Ernest  was  too  lazy, 
and  preferred  walking  at  ease  with  the  mon- 
key on  his  shoulder,  and  the  more  so,  because 
it  spared  him  the  trouble  of  gathering  fruit. 

When  we  reached  the  oaks,  Lightfoot  was 
tied  to  a  bush,  and  we  set  actively  to  work 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  489 

to  gather  the  acorns  that  had  dropped  from 
the  trees.  While  all  were  busily  employed, 
the  monkey  quitted  its  master's  shoulder  and 
skipped  unperceived  into  an  adjoining  bash. 
It  had  been  there  some  time  when  we  heard 
on  that  side  the  loud  cries  of  birds  and  flap- 
ping of  wings,  and  this  assured  us  a  sharp 
conflict  was  going  on  between  master  Knips 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  bushes.  I  de- 
spatched Ernest  to  reconnoitre.  He  went 
stoutly  towards  the  place,  and  in  an  instant 
we  heard  him  exclaim,  "  Come  quickly,  fa- 
ther !  A  fine  heath-fowl's  nest  full  of  eggs  ; 
Mr.  Knips,  as  usual,  wished  to  make  a  meal 
of  them  ;  the  hen  and  he  are  fighting  for  it ; 
come  quick,  Fritz,  and  take  her ;  I  am  hold- 
ing greedy-chops  as  well  as  I  can." 

Fritz  ran  up  directly,  and  in  a  few  mo- 
ments brought  out  alive  the  male  and  female 
heath-fowl,  both  very  beautiful ;  the  cock 
finely  collared,  similar  to  one  he  had  killed 
on  a  former  occasion.  I  was  rejoiced  at  this 
discovery,  and  helped  my  son  to  prevent  their 
escape,  by  tying  their  wings  and  feet,  and 
holding  them  while  he  returned  to  the  bush 
from  the  eggs.     And  now  Ernest  came  for- 


490  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

ward  driving  the  monkey  before  him,  and 
carrying  his  hat  with  the  utmost  care :  he 
had  stuck  his  girdle  full  of  narrow  sharp- 
pointed  leaves,  in  shape  like  a  knife-blade, 
which  reminded  me  of  the  production  named 
sword-grass ;  but  I  did  not  pay  much  attention, 
as  I  was  too  busily  engaged  in  our  egg-hunt, 
and  considered  his  decoration  as  childishness. 
On  coming  up  to  me  he  uncovered  his  hat, 
and  gave  it  me  in  a  transport  of  joy,  crying 
out,  "  Here,  father,  are  some  heath-fowl's 
eggs.  I  found  them  in  a  nest  so  well  con- 
cealed under  these  long  leaves,  that  I  should 
not  have  observed  them  had  not  the  hen,  in 
defending  herself  against  the  monkey,  scat- 
tered them  about  I  am  going  to  take  them 
home,  they  will  please  my  mother ;  and  these 
leaves  will  amuse  Francis,  for  they  are  like 
swords,  and  he  will  like  them  for  a  play- 
thing." I  applauded  Ernest's  kind  thought, 
and  I  encouraged  him  and  Fritz  to  be  thus 
ever  considerate  for  the  absent.  The  kind- 
nesses conferred  on  those  who  are  separated 
from  us  have  in  themselves  more  merit,  and 
are  more  valued,  than  those  which  are  per- 
sonally received.     It  was  now  time  to  think 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  491 

of  moving  homeward :  my  two  sons  filled  the 
bags  with  acorns,  and  put  them  on  Lightfoot. 
Fritz  mounted,  Ernest  carried  the  eggs,  I 
took  charge  of  the  hen,  and  we  proceeded  to 
Falcon's  Stream,  followed  by  our  train-wagon. 
Our  good  cattle  were  in  such  complete  sub- 
jection, that  it  was  only  necessary  to  speak 
to  them.  I  remarked  Ernest  often  applying 
his  ear  to  the  heat  which  held  the  eggs,  as 
if  he  thought  the  little  ones  were  near  com- 
ing forth ;  I  listened  also  and  observed  some 
shells  already  broken  and  the  young  protrud- 
ing: we  were  overjoyed  at  our  good  luck, 
and  Fritz  could  not  refrain  from  trotting  on 
briskly  to  bear  the  tidings  to  his  mother. 
When  arrived,  our  first  care  was  to  examine 
the  eggs :  the  female  bird  was  too  frightened 
and  wild  to  sit  upon  them :  fortunately  we 
had  a  hen  that  was  hatching ;  her  eggs  were 
immediately  removed,  and  the  new  ones  put 
in  their  place :  the  female  heath-fowl  was  put 
into  the  parrot's  cage,  and  hung  up  in  the 
room,  to  accustom  it  to  our  society.  In 
less  than  three  days  all  the  chickens  were 
hatched ;  they  kept  close  to  their  foster-mo- 
ther,  and  ate  greedily  a  mixture  of  sweet 

33 


492  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

acorns  bruised  in  milk,  such  as  we  gave  our 
tame  poultry :  as  they  grew  up  I  plucked  out 
the  large  feathers  of  their  wings,  lest  they 
should  naturally  take  flight:  but  they  and 
their  real  parent  gradually  became  so  domes- 
ticated, that  they  daily  accompanied  our  fea- 
thered stock  in  search  of  food,  and  regularly 
came  back  at  night  to  the  roost  I  had  pre- 
pared for  them,  and  in  which  this  little  new 
colony  of  feathered  beings  seemed  to  delight. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Flax  ;  —  and  the  Rainy  Season. 

Francis  for  a  short  time  was  highly  amus- 
ed with  his  sword-leaves,  and  then,  like  all 
children,  who  are  soon  tired  of  their  toys,  he 
grew  weary  of  them,  and  they  were  thrown 
aside.  Fritz  picked  up  some  of  them  that 
were  quite  soft  and  withered ;  holding  up  one 
which  was  pliable  as  a  riband  in  his  hand  : 
"Francis,"  said  he,  "you  can  make  whips 
of  your  sword-grass,  and  they  will  be  of  use 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  493 

in  driving  your  goats  and  sheep.  "  It  had 
been  lately  decided  that  it  should  be  the  bus- 
iness of  Francis  to  lead  these  to  pasture. 
Fritz  accordingly  sat  down  to  help  him  divide 
the  leaves,  and  afterwards  plat  them  into 
whip- cords.  As  they  were  working,  I  saw 
with  pleasure  the  flexibility  and  strength  of 
the  bands ;  I  examined  them  more  closely, 
and  found  they  were  composed  of  long  fibres 
or  filaments  ;  and  this  discovery  led  me  to 
surmise  that  this  supposed  sword-grass  might 
be  a  very  different  thing,  and  not  improbably 
the  flax-plant,  of  New  Zealand,  called  by  nat- 
uralists Chlamidia,  and  by  others  Phormion. 
This  was  a  valuable  discovery  in  our  situation  : 
I  knew  how  much  my  wife  wished  for  the  pro- 
duction, and  that  it  was  the  article  she  felt 
most  the  want  of:  I  therefore  hastened  to 
communicate  the  intelligence  to  her,  and  she 
expressed  the  liveliest  joy :  "  This,"  said  she, 
"  is  the  most  useful  thing  you  have  found ; 
lose  not  a  moment  in  searching  for  more  of 
these  leaves,  and  bring  me  the  most  you  can 
of  them ;  I  will  make  you  stockings,  shirts, 

clothes,  thread,  ropes In  short,  give  me 

flax,  looms,   and  frames,  and  I  shall  be  at 


'494  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

no  loss  in  the  employment  of  it."  I  could  not 
help  smiling  at  the  scope  she  gave  to  her  im- 
agination, on  the  bare  mention  of  flax,  though 
bo  much  was  to  be  done  between  the  gather- 
ing the  leaves,  and  having  the  cloth  she  was 
already  sewing  in  idea.  Fritz  whispered  a 
word  in  Jack's  ear ;  both  went  to  the  stable, 
and  without  asking  my  leave,  one  mounted 
Lightfoot,  the  other  the  buffalo,  and  galloped 
off  towards  the  wood  so  fast  that  I  had  no 
time  to  call  them  back :  they  were  already 
out  of  sight :  their  eagerness  to  oblige  their 
mother  in  this  instance  pleaded  their  forgive- 
ness, and  I  suffered  them  to  go  on  without 
following  them,  purposing  to  proceed  and 
bring  them  back  if  they  did  not  soon  return. 
In  waiting  for  them  I  conversed  with  my 
wife,  who  pointed  out  to  me,  with  all  the  ani- 
mation and  spirit  of  useful  enterprise  so  nat- 
ural to  her  character,  the  various  machinery 
I  must  contrive  for  spinning  and  weaving  her 
flax  for  the  manufactory  of  cloths,  with  which 
she  said  she  should  be  able  to  equip  us  from 
head  to  foot ;  in  speaking  of  which,  her  eyes 
sparkled  with  doing  good,  the  love  of  the  pur- 
est kind  of  joy,  and  I  promised  her  all  she  de- 
sired of  me. 


THE   SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON.  495 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  our  deserters  came 
back :  like  true  hussars,  they  had  foraged 
the  woods,  and  heavily  loaded  their  cattle 
with  the  precious  plant,  which  they  threw  at 
their  mother's  feet  with  joyful  shouts.  It 
was  next  proposed  that  all  should  assist  her 
in  preparations  for  the  work  she  was  to  en- 
gage in,  and  previously  in  steeping  the  flax. 

Fritz.  —  How  is  flax  prepared,  father,  and 
what  is  meant  by  steeping  it  ? 

Father.  —  Steeping  flax,  or  hemp,  is  ex- 
posing it  in  the  open  air,  by  spreading  it  on 
the  ground  to  receive  the  rain,  the  wind,  and 
the  dew,  in  order  in  a  certain  degree  to  li- 
quify the  plant ;  by  this  means  the  ligneous 
parts  of  the  flax  are  separated  with  more  ease 
from  the  fibrous ;  a  kind  of  vegetable  glue 
that  binds  them  is  dissolved,  and  it  can  then 
be  perfectly  cleaned  with  great  ease,  and  the 
parts  selected  which  are  fit  for  spinning. 

Fritz.  —  But  may  not  the  natural  texture 
of  this  part  be  destroyed  by  exposing  it  so 
long  to  wet  ? 

Father. —  That  certainly  may  happen  when 
the  process  is  managed  injudiciously,  and  the 
flax  not  duly  turned ;   the  risk,  however,  is 


496  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

not  great,  the  fibrous  part  has  a  peculiar  te- 
nacity, which  enables  it  to  resist  longer  the 
action  of  humidity  :  flax  may  be  even  steeped 
altogether  in  water  without  injury.  Many 
think  this  the  best  and  quickest  method,  and 
I  am  of  their  opinion. 

My  wife  coincided  with  me,  especially  in 
the  sultry  climate  we  inhabited :  she  there- 
fore proposed  to  soak  the  flax  in  Flamingo 
Marsh,  and  begin  by  making  up  the  leaves 
in  bundles^  as  they  do  hemp  in  Europe.  We 
agreed  to  her  proposal,  and  joined  in  this 
previous  and  necessary  preparation  of  the 
flax  during  the  rest  of  the  day. 

Next  morning  the  ass  was  put  to  the  small 
light  car,  loaded  with  bundles  of  leaves ; 
Francis  and  the  monkey  sat  on  them,  and 
the  remainder  of  the  family  gaily  followed 
with  shovels  and  pick-axes.  We  stopped  at 
the  marsh,  divided  our  large  bundles  into 
smaller,  which  we  placed  in  the  water,  press- 
ing them  down  with  stones,  and  leaving  them 
in  this  state  till  it  was  time  to  remove  and 
set  them  in  the  sun  to  dry,  and  thus  render 
the  stems  soft  and  easy  to  peel.  In  the 
course  of  this  work  we  noticed  with  admira- 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  497 

tion  the  instinct  of  the  flamingoes,  in  build- 
ing their  cone-shaped  nests  above  the  level  of 
the  marsh,  each  nest  having  a  recess  in  the 
upper  part,  in  which  the  eggs  are  securely 
deposited,  while  the  contrivance  enables  the 
female  to  sit  with  her  legs  in  the  water ;  the 
nest  is  of  clay,  closely  cemented,  so  as  to  re- 
sist all  danger  from  the  element  till  the  young 
can  swim. 

In  a  fortnight  we  took  the  flax  out  of  the 
water,  and  spread  it  on  the  grass  in  the  sun, 
where  it  dried  so  rapidly  that  we  were  able 
to  load  it  on  our  cart  the  same  evening,  and 
carry  it  to  Falcon's  Stream,  where  it  was  put 
by  till  we  had  time  to  make  the  beetles, 
wheels,  reels,  carding-combs,  &c,  required 
by  our  chief  for  the  manufacture.  It  was 
thought  best  to  reserve  this  task  for  the  rainy 
season,  and  to  employ  the  present  time  in 
collecting  a  competent  stock  of  provisions  for 
ourselves  and  for  all  the  animals.  Occa- 
sional slight  showers,  the  harbingers  of  win- 
ter, had  already  come  on  :  the  temperature, 
which  hitherto  had  been  warm  and  serene, 
became  gloomy  and  variable ;  the  sky  was 
often  darkened  with  clouds,  the  stormy  winds 


498  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

were  heard,  and  warned  us  to  avail  ourselves 
of  the  favorable  moment  to  get  all  that  might 
be  wanted  ready. 

Our  first  care  was  to  dig  up  a  full  supply  of 
potatoes  and  yams  for  bread,  with  plenty  of 
cocoa-nuts,  and  some  bags  of  sweet  acorns.  It 
occurred  to  .us  while  digging,  that  the  ground 
being  thus  opened  and  manured  with  the  leaves 
of  plants,  we  might  sow  in  it  to  advantage  the 
remainder  of  our  European  corn.  Notwith- 
standing all  the  delicacies  this  stranger  land 
afforded  us,  the  force  of  habit  still  caused  us 
to  long  for  the  bread  we  had  been  fed  with 
from  childhood :  we  had  not  yet  laid  ourselves 
out  for  regular  tillage,  and  I  was  inclined  to 
attempt  the  construction  of  a  plough  of  some 
sort  as  soon  as  we  had  a  sufficient  stock  of 
corn  for  sowing.  For  this  time,  therefore, 
we  committed  it  to  the  earth  with  little  prep- 
aration :  the  season,  however,  was  proper  for 
sowing  and  planting,  as  the  ensuing  rain 
would  moisten  and  swell  the  embryo  grain, 
which  otherwise  would  perish  in  an  arid, 
burning  soil.  We  accordingly  expedited  the 
planting  of  the  various  palm-trees  we  had 
discovered  in  our  excursions,  at  Tent-House, 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  499 

carefully  selecting  the  smallest  and  the  young- 
est. In  the  environs  we  formed  a  large  hand- 
some plantation  of  sugar-canes,  so  as  to  have 
hereafter  every  thing  useful  and  agreeable 
around  us,  and  thus  be  dispensed  from  the 
usual  toil  and  loss  of  time  in  procuring  them. 

These  different  occupations  kept  us  several 
weeks  in  unremitted  activity  of  mind  and 
body;  our  cart  was  incessantly  in  motion, 
conveying  home  our  winter  stock  :  time  was  so 
precious,  that  we  did  not  even  make  regular 
meals,  and  limited  ourselves  to  bread,  cheese, 
and  fruits,  in  order  to  shorten  them,  to  return 
quickly  to  our  work,  and  despatch  it  before 
the  bad  season  should  set  in. 

Unfortunately,  the  weather  changed  sooner 
than  we  had  expected,  and  than,  with  all  our 
care,  we  could  be  prepared  for :  before  we 
had  completed  our  winter  establishment,  the 
rain  fell  in  such  heavy  torrents,  that  we  could 
not  refrain  from  painful  apprehensions  in  sur- 
mising how  we  should  resist  such  a  body  of 
water,  that  seemed  to  change  the  whole  face 
of  the  country  into  a  lake. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done,  was  to  remove 
our  aerial  abode,  and  to  fix  our  residence  at 


500  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

the  bottom  of  the  tree,  between  the  roots  and 
under  the  tarred  roof  I  had  erected ;  for  it 
was  no  longer  possible  to  remain  above,  on 
account  of  the  furious  winds  that  threatened 
to  bear  us  away,  and  deluge  our  beds  with 
rain  through  the  large  opening  in  front,  our 
only  protection  here  being  a  piece  of  sail- 
cloth, which  was  soon  dripping  wet  and  rent 
to  pieces.  In  this  condition  we  were  forced 
to  take  down  our  hammocks,  mattrasses,  and 
every  article  that  could  be  injured  by  the 
rain ;  and  most  fortunate  did  we  deem  our- 
selves in  having  made  the  winding  stairs, 
which  sheltered  us  during  the  operation  of 
the  removal.  The  stairs  served  afterwards 
for  a  kind  of  lumber-room  ;  we  kept  all  in  it 
we  could  dispense  with,  and  most  of  our  cu- 
linary vessels,  which  my  wife  fetched  as  she 
happened  to  want  them.  Our  little  sheds  be- 
tween the  roots,  constructed  for  the  poultry 
and  the  cattle,  could  scarcely  contain  us  all ; 
and  the  first  days  we  passed  in  this  manner 
were  painfully  embarrassing,  crowded  all  to- 
gether, and  hardly  able  to  move  in  these  al- 
most dark  recesses,  which  the  foetid  smell 
from  the  close  adjoining  animals  rendered 


THE    SWISS   FAJIILY   ROBINSON.  501 

almost  Insupportable :    in  addition,  we  were 
half  stifled  with  smoke  whenever  we  kindled 
a  fire,    and    drenched    with    rain    when    we 
opened  the  doors.     For  the  first  time  since 
our  disaster,  we  sighed  for  the  comfortable 
homes  of  our  dear  country  :  —  but  what  was 
to  be  done  !    we  were  not  there,  and  losing 
our  courage  and  our  temper  would  only  in- 
crease the  evil.     I  strove  to  raise  the  spirits 
of  my  companions,  and  obviate  some  of  the 
inconveniences.       The   now    doubly-precious 
winding  etair  was,  as  I  have  said,  every  way 
useful  to  us ;  the  upper  part  of  it  was  filled 
with  numerous  articles  that  gave  us  room  be- 
low ;  and  as  it  was  lighted  and  sheltered  by 
windows,  my  wife  often  worked  there,  seated 
on  a  stair,  with  her  little  Francis  at  her  feet. 
We  confined  our  live-stock  to  a  smaller  num- 
ber, and  gave  them  a  freer  current  of  air, 
dismissing  from  the  stalls  those  animals  that, 
from  their  properties,  and  being  natives  of 
the  country,  would  be  at  no  loss  in  providing 
for  themselves.    That  we  might  not  lose  them 
altogether,  we  tied  bells  round  their  necks ; 
Fritz  and  I  sought  and  drove  them  in  every 
evening  that  they  did  not  spontaneously  re- 


502  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

turn.     We  generally  got  wet  to  the  skin  and 
chilled  with    cold,  during  the   employment, 
which  induced  my  wife  to  contrive  for  us  a 
kind  of  clothing  more  suitable  to  the  occa- 
sion ;  she  took  two  seamen's  shirts  from  the 
chest,  and  with  some  pieces  of  old  coats,  she 
made  us  a  kind  of  cloth  hoods  joined  together 
at  the  back,  and  well  formed  for  covering  the 
head  entirely :  we  melted  some  elastic  gum, 
which  we  spread  over  the  shirts  and  hoods ; 
and  the  articles  thus  prepared  answered  every 
purpose  of  water-proof  overalls,  that,  were  of 
essential  use  and  comfort  to  us.     Our  young 
rogues  were  ready  with  their  scornful  jokes 
the  first  time  they  saw  us  in  them :  but  af- 
terwards they  would  have  been  rejoiced  to 
have  had  the  same ;    this,  however,  the  re- 
duced state  of  our  gum  did  not  allow,  and 
we  contented  ourselves  with  wearing  them  in 
turn,  when  compelled  to  work  in  the  rain, 
from  the  bad  effects  of  which  they  effectually 
preserved  us. 

As  to  the  smoke,  our  only  remedy  was  to 
open  the  door  when  we  made  a  fire ;  and  we 
did  without  as  much  as  we  could,  living  on 
milk  and  cheese,  and  never  making  a  fire  but 


THE   SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON.  503 

to  bake  our  cakes  :  we  then  used  the  occasion 
to  boil  a  quantity  of  potatoes,  and  salt  meat 
enough  to  last  us  a  number  of  days.  Our 
dry  wood  was  also  nearly  expended,  and  we 
thanked  Heaven  the  weather  was  not  very 
cold ;  for  had  this  been  the  case,  our  other 
trials  would  have  much  increased.  A  more 
serious  concern  was,  our  not  having  provided 
sufficient  hay  and  leaves  for  our  European 
cattle,  which  we  kept  housed  to  avoid  losing 
them ;  the  cow,  the  ass,  the  sheep,  and  the 
goat,  the  two  last  of  which  were  increased  in 
number,  required  a  large  quantity  of  provin- 
der,  so  that  we  were  ere  long  forced  to  give 
them  our  potatoes  and  sweet  acorns,  which  by 
the  by,  they  found  very  palatable,  and  we  re- 
marked that  they  imparted  a  delicate  flavor 
to  their  milk  ;  —  the  cow,  the  goats,  and  even 
the  sheep,  amply  supplied  us  with  that  pre- 
cious article :  milking,  cleaning  the  animals, 
and  preparing  their  food,  occupied  us  most 
of  the  morning,  after  which  we  were  usually 
employed  in  making  flour  of  the  manioc  root, 
with  which  we  filled  the  large  gourds,  previ- 
ously placed  in  rows.  The  gloom  of  the  at- 
mosphere and  our  low  windowless  habitation, 


504  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

sensibly  abridged  our  daylight ;  fortunately, 
we  had  laid  in  a  huge  store  of  candles,  and 
felt  no  want  of  that  article :  when  darkness 
obliged  us  to  light  up,  we  got  round  the  ta- 
ble, where  a  large  taper  fixed  on  a  gourd 
gave  us  an  excellent  light,  which  enabled  my 
wife  to  pursue  her  occupation  with  the  nee- 
dle, while  I  on  my  part  was  forming  a  jour- 
nal, and  recording  what  the  reader  has  pe- 
rused of  the  narrative  of  our  shipwreck  and 
residence  in  this  island,  assisted  from  time  to 
time  by  my  sons  and  their  admirable  mother, 
who  did  not  cease  to  remind  me  of  various 
incidents  belonging  to  the  story.  To  Ernest, 
who  wrote  a  fine  hand,  was  intrusted  the  care 
of  writing  off  my  pages  in  a  clear  legible 
character :  Fritz  and  Jack  amused  them- 
selves by  drawing  from  memory,  the  plants 
and  animals  which  had  most  struck  their  ob- 
servation; while  one  and  all  contributed  to 
teach  little  Francis  to  read  and  write :  we 
concluded  the  day  with  a  devotional  reading 
in  the  Holy  Bible,  performed  by  each  in  turn, 
and  we  then  retired  to  rest,  happy  in  our- 
selves, and  in  the  innocent  and  peaceful 
course  of  our  existence.     Our  kind  and  faith- 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  505 

ful  steward  often  surprised  us  agreeably  on 
our  return  from  looking  after  the  cattle,  by 
lighting  a  fagot  of  dried  bamboo,  and  quickly 
roasting,  by  the  clear  and  fervent  heat  it  pro- 
duced, a  chicken,  pigeon,  or  duck  from  our 
poultry  yard,  or  some  of  the  thrushes  we  had 
preserved  in  butter,  which  were  excellent, 
and  welcomed  as  a  treat  to  reward  extraor- 
dinary toil.  Every  four  or  five  days  the  kind 
creature  made  us  new  fresh  butter  in  the 
gourd-churn;  and  this,  with  some  fragrant 
honey  spread  on  our  manioc  cakes,  formed  a 
collation  that  would  have  raised  the  envy  of 
European  epicures.  These  unexpected  re- 
gales represented  to  our  grateful  hearts  so 
many  little  festivals,  the  generous  intention 
of  which  made  us  forget  our  bad  accommoda- 
tions and  confinement. 

The  fragments  of  our  meals  belonged  in 
right  to  our  domestic  animals,  as  part  of  the 
family.  We  had  now  four  dogs,  the  eagle, 
and  the  monkey,  to  feed ;  they  relied  with 
just  confidence  on  the  kindness  of  their  re- 
spective masters,  who  certainly  would  have 
deprived  themselves  to  supply  the  wants  of 
their  helpless  dependants.    Francis  had  taken 


506  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

under  his  mighty  protection  the  two  puppies"; 
my  wife,  Flora ;  and  I,  the  brave  Turk :  — 
thus  each  had  his  attendant,  of  which  he  took 
care,  and  no  one  was  dispensed  from  the  of- 
fices of  tenderness  and  vigilance.  If  the  buf- 
falo, the  onagra,  and  pig,  had  not  found  sus- 
tenance abroad,  they  must  have  been  killed 
or  starved,  and  that  would  have. given  us 
much  pain.  In  the  course  of  these  discom- 
forts, it  was  unanimously  resolved  on,  that 
we  would  not  pass  another  rainy  season  ex- 
posed to  the  same  evils ;  even  my  gentle- 
tempered  and  most  beloved  consort,  was  a 
little  ruffled  now  and  then  with  our  inconve- 
nient situation,  and  insisted  more  than  any 
of  us  on  the  plan  of  building  elsewhere  a 
more  spacious  winter  residence  :  she  wished, 
however,  to  return  to  our  castle  in  the  tree 
every  summer,  and  we  all  joined  with  her  in 
that  desire.  The  choice  of  a  fresh  abode  now 
engrossed  our  attention,  and  Fritz  in  the 
midst  of  consultation  came  forward  triumph- 
antly with  a  book  he  had  found  in  the  bottom 
of  our  clothes'  chest.  "Here,"  said  he,  "is 
our  best  counselor  and  model,  Robinson 
Crusoe ;  since  Heaven  has  destined  us  to  a 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  507 

similar  fate,  whom  better  can  we  consult? 
As  far  as  I  remember,  he  cut  himself  a  habi- 
tation out  of  the  solid  rock :  let  us  see  how 
he  proceeded ;  we  will  do  the  same,  and  with 
greater#ease,  for  he  was  alone ;  we  are  six  in 
number,  and  four  of  us  able  to  work."  This 
idea  of  Fritz  was  hailed  by  all.  We  assem- 
bled, and  read  the  famous  history  with  an 
ardent  interest ;  it  seemed,  though  so  famil- 
iar, quite  new  to  us :  we  entered  earnestly 
into  every  detail,  and  derived  considerable 
information  from  it,  and  never  failed  to  feel 
lively  gratitude  towards  God,  who  had  res- 
cued us  altogether,  and  not  permitted  one 
only  of  us  to  be  cast,  a  solitary  being,  on  the 
island.  The  occurrence  of  this  thought  pro- 
duced an  overwhelming  sense  of  affection 
among  us ;  we  could  not  refrain  from  throw- 
ing ourselves  into  each  other's  arms,  embrac- 
ing repeatedly,  and  the  pathetic  scene  ended 
in  mutual  congratulations. 

Francis  expressed  his  wish  to  have  a  Man 
Friday ;  Fritz  thought  it  better  to  be  with- 
out such  a  companion,  and  to  have  no  sav- 
ages to  contend  with.  Jack  was  for  the  sav- 
ages, warfare,  and  encounters.      The  final 

34 


508  THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

result  of  our  deliberations  was  to  go  and  sur- 
vey the  rocks  round  Tent-House,  and  to  ex- 
amine whether  any  of  them  could  be  exca- 
vated for  our  purpose. 

Our  last  job  for  the  winter,  undertaken  at 
my  wife's  solicitation,  was  a  beetle  for  her 
flax,  and  some  carding  combs.  I  filed  large 
nails  till  they  were  even,  round,  and  pointed ; 
I  fixed  them  at  equal  distances  in  a  sheet  of 
tin,  and  raised  the  sides  of  it  like  a  box ;  I 
then  poured  melted  lead  between  the  nails 
and  the  sides,  to  give  firmness  to  their  points, 
which  came  out  four  inches.  I  nailed  this 
tin  on  a  board,  and  the  machine  was  fit  for 
work.  My  wife  was  impatient  to  use  it ;  and 
the  drying,  peeling,  and  spinning  her  flax, 
became  from  this  time  a  source  of  inexhaust- 
able  delight. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Spring ;  —  Spinning;  — Salt  Mine. 

I  CAN  hardly  describe  our  joy,  when,  after 
many  tedious  and  gloomy  weeks  of  rain,  the 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  509 

sky  began  to  brighten,  the  sun  to  dart  its  be- 
nign rays  on  the  humid  earth,  the  winds-  to 
be  lulled,  and  the  state  of  the  air  became 
mild  and  serene.  We  issued  from  our  dreary 
hovels  with  joyful  shouts,  and  walked  round 
our  habitation  breathing  the  enlivening  balmy 
ether,  while  our  eyes  were  regaled  with  the 
beauteous  verdure  beginning  to  shoot  forth 
on  every  side.  Reviving  nature  opened  her 
arms,  every  creature  seemed  reanimated,  and 
we  felt  the  genial  influence  of  that  glorious 
luminary  which  had  been  so  long  concealed 
from  our  sight,  and  now  returned,  like  a 
friend  who  had  been  absent,  to  bring  us  back 
blessings  and  delight.  We  rapidly  forgot  in 
new  sensations  the  embarrassments  and  weary 
hours  of  the  wet  season,  and  with  jocund, 
hopeful  hearts,  looked  forward  to  the  toils  of 
summer  as  enviable  amusements. 

The  vegetation  of  our  plantation  of  trees 
was  rapidly  advancing ;  the  seed  we  had 
thrown  into  the  ground  was  sprouting  in  slen- 
der blades  that  waved  luxuriantly ;  a  pleasing 
tender  foliage  adorned  the  trees ;  the  earth 
was  enameled  with  an  infinite  variety  of 
flowers,  whose  agreeable  tints  diversified  the 


510  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

verdure  of  the  meadows.  Odorous  exhala- 
tions were  diffused  through  the  atmosphere ; 
the  song  of  birds  was  heard  around :  they 
were  seen  between  the  leaves,  joyfully  flut- 
tering from  branch  to  branch ;  their  various 
forms  and  brilliant  plumage  heightened  this 
delightful  picture  of  spring,  and  we  were  at 
once  struck  with  wonder  and  penetrated  with 
gratitude  towards  the  Creator  of  so  many 
beauties.  Under  these  impressions  we  cele- 
brated the  ensuing  Sunday  in  the  open  air, 
and,  if  possible,  with  stronger  emotions  of 
piety  than  heretofore.  The  blessings  which 
surrounded  us  were  ample  compensation  for 
some  uneasy  moments  which  had  occasionally 
intervened ;  and  our  hearts,  filled  with  fresh 
zeal,  were  resolved  to  be  resigned,  if  it  should 
be  the  will  of  God,  to  pass  the  residue  of  our 
days  in  this  solitude  with  serenity  of  soul. 
The  force  of  paternal  feelings,  no  doubt,  made 
me  sometimes  form  other  wishes  for  my  chil- 
dren ;  but  these  I  buried  in  my  own  breast, 
for  fear  of  disturbing  their  tranquillity  :  but 
if  I  secretly  indulged  a  desire  for  some 
event  that  might  prolong  and  even  increase 
their  happiness,  I  nevertheless  wholly  sub- 
mitted all  to  the  Divine  will. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  511 

Our  summer  occupations  commenced  by 
arranging  and  thoroughly  cleaning  Falcon's 
Nest,  the  order  and  neatness  of  which  the 
rain  and  dead  leaves  blown  by  the  wind  had 
disturbed  :  in  other  respects,  however,  it  was 
not  injured,  and  in  a  few  days  we  rendered 
it  fit  for  our  reception ;  the  stairs  were  clear- 
ed, the  rooms  between  the  roots  re-occupied, 
and  we  were  left  with  leisure  to  proceed  to 
other  employments.  My  wife  lost  not  a  mo- 
ment in  resuming  the  process  of  her  flax. 
Our  sons  hastened  to  lead  the  cattle  to  the 
fresh  pastures ;  whilst  it  was  my  task  to  carry 
the  bundles  of  flax  into  the  open  air,  where, 
by  heaping  stones  together,  I  contrived  an 
oven  sufficiently  commodious  to  dry  it  well. 
The  same  evening  we  all  set  to  work  to  peel, 
and  afterwards  to  beat  it  and  strip  off  the 
bark,  and  lastly  to  comb  it  with  my  carding 
machine,  which  fully  answered  the  purpose. 
I  took  this  laborious  task  on  myself,  and 
drew  out  such  distaffs  full  of  long  soft  flax 
ready  for  spinning,  that  my  enraptured  wife 
ran  to  embrace  me,  to  express  her  thankful- 
ness, requesting  me  to  make  her  a  wheel 
without  delay,  that  she  might  enter  upon  her 
favorite  work. 


512  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

At  an  earlier  period  of  my  life  I  had  prac- 
tised tourney  for  my  amusement ;  now,  how- 
ever, I  was  unfortunately  destitute  of  the 
requisite  utensils ;  but  as  I  had  not  forgotten 
the  arrangement  and  component  parts  of  a 
spinning-wheel  and  reel,  I  by  repeated  en- 
deavors found  means  to  accomplish  those  two 
machines  to  her  satisfaction ;  and  she  fell  so 
eagerly  to  spinning,  as  to  allow  herself  no 
leisure  even  for  a  walk,  and  scarcely  time  to 
dress  our  dinners :  nothing  so  much  delighted 
her  as  to  be  left  with  her  little  boy,  whom  she 
employed  to  reel  as  fast  as  she  could  spin, 
and  sometimes  the  other  three  were  also  en- 
gaged in  turns  at  the  wheel,  to  forward  her 
business  whilst  she  was  occupied  in  the  culi- 
nary offices;  but  not  one  of  them  was  found, 
so  tractable  as  the  cool-tempered,  quiet  Ern- 
est, who  preferred  this  to  more  laborious  ex- 
ertions. Our  first  visit  was  to  Tent-House, 
and  here  we  found  the  ravages  of  winter  more 
considerable  than  even  at  Falcon's  Stream : 
the  tempest  and  rain  had  beaten  down  the 
tent,  carried  away  a  part  of  the  sail-cloth, 
and  made  such  havoc  amongst  our  provisions, 
that  by  far  the  largest  portion  was  spotted 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  513 

■with  mildew,  and  the  remainder  could  be  only 
saved  by  drying  them  instantly.  Luckily,  our 
handsome  pinnace  had  been  for  the  most  part 
spared ;  it  wTas  still  at  anchor,  ready  to  serve  us 
in  case  of  need ;  but  our  tub-boat  was  in  too 
shattered  a  state  to  be  of  any  further  service. 

In  looking  over  the  stores,  we  were  grieved 
to  find  the  gunpowder,  of  which  I  had  left 
three  barrels  in  the  tent,  the  most  damaged. 
The  contents  of  two  were  rendered  wholly  use- 
less. I  thought  myself  fortunate  on  finding 
the  remaining  one  in  tolerable  condition,  and 
derived  from  this  great  and  irreparable  loss,  a 
cogent  motive  to  fix  upon  winter  quarters, 
where  our  stores,  our  only  wealth,  would  not 
be  exposed  to  such  cruel  dilapidations. 

Fritz  and  Jack  wTere  constant  in  their  en- 
deavors to  make  me  undertake  the  excavation 
in  the  rock,  but  I  had  no  hopes  of  success. 
Robinson  Crusoe  found  a  spacious  cavern 
that  merely  required  arrangement ;  no  such 
cavity  was  apparent  in  our  rock,  which  bore 
the  aspect  of  extreme  solidity,  and  impene- 
trableness ;  so  that,  with  our  limited  powers, 
three  or  four  summers  would  scarcely  suffice 
to  execute  the  design.     Still  the  earnest  de- 


514  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

sire  of  a  more  substantial  habitation,  to  de- 
fend us  from  the  elements,  perplexed  me  in- 
cessantly, and  I  resolved  to  make  at  least  the 
attempt  of  cutting  out  a  recess  that  should 
protect  the  gunpowder,  the  most  valuable  of 
all  our  treasures.  I  accordingly  set  off  one 
day,  accompanied  by  my  two  boys,  leaving 
their  mother  at  her  spinning  with  Ernest  and 
Francis.  We  took  with  us  pickaxes,  chisels, 
hammers,  and  iron  levers,  to  try  what  impres- 
sion we  could  make  on  the  rock.  I  chose  a 
part  nearly  perpendicular,  and  much  better 
situated  than  our  tent :  the  view  from  it  was 
enchanting ;  for  it  embraced  the  whole  range 
of  Safety  Bay,  the  banks  of  Jackall's  Stream, 
and  Family  Bridge,  and  many  of  the  pictu- 
resque projections  of  the  rocks.  I  marked 
out  with  charcoal  the  opening  we  wished  to 
make,  and  we  began  the  heavy  toil  of  pierc- 
ing the  quarry.  We  made  so  little  progress 
the  first  day,  that,  in  spite  of  our  courage, 
we  were  tempted  to  relinquish  the  undertak- 
ing; we  persevered,  however,  and  my  hope 
was  somewhat  revived  as  I  perceived  the 
stone  was  of  a  softer  texture  as  we  pene- 
trated deeper:   I  concluded  from  this,  that 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  515 

the  ardent  rays  of  the  sun  striking  upon  the 
rock  had  hardened  the  external  layer,  and 
that  the  stone  within  would  increase  in  soft- 
ness as  we  advanced ;  and  it  occurred  to  me, 
that  the  substance  might  be  a  species  of  cal- 
carious  stone.  When  I  had  cut  about  a  foot 
in  depth,  we  could  loosen  it  with  a  spade  like 
dried  mud ;  this  determined  me  to  proceed 
with  double  ardor,  and  my  boys  assisted  me* 
with  a  spirit  and  zeal  beyond  their  years. 

After  a  few  days  of  assiduous  labor,  we 
measured  the  opening,  and  found  we  had 
already  advanced  seven  feet  into  the  rock. 
Fritz  removed  the  fragments  in  a  barrow, 
and  discharged  them  in  a  line  before  the 
place,  to  form  a  sort  of  terrace ;  I  applied 
my  own  labor  to  the  upper  part,  to  enlarge 
the  aperture  ;  Jack,  the  smallest  of  the  three, 
was  able  to  get  in  and  cut  away  below.  He 
had  with  him  a  long  iron  bar  sharpened  at 
the  end,  wThich  he  drove  in  with  a  hammer, 
to  loosen  a  piece  at  a  time;  suddenly  he 
bawled  out :  "  It  is  pierced  through,  father  ! 
Fritz,  I  have  pierced  it  through !" 

"  Hah,  hah,  master  Jack  at  his  jokes 
again !  —  But   let  us  hear,   what  have  you 


516  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

pierced  ?  Is  it  the  mountain  ?  Not  perad- 
venture  jour  hand  or  foot,  Jack  ?  "  cried  I. 

Jack.  —  No,  no,  it  is  the  mountain,  (the 
rocks  resounding  with  his  usual  shout  of  joy ;) 
huzza,  huzza  !     I  have  pierced  the  mountain ! 

Fritz  now  ran  to  him.  Come,  let  us  see 
then :  it  is  no  doubt  the  globe  at  least  you 
have  pierced,"  said  he,  in  a  bantering  tone: 
"  you  should  have  pushed  on  your  tool  boldly, 
till  you  reached  Europe,  which  they  say  is 
under  our  feet ;  I  should  have  been  glad  to 
peep  into  that  hole. 

Jack.  —  Well,  then,  peep  you  may,  but  I 
hardly  know  what  you  will  see ;  come  and 
look  how  far  the  iron  is  gone  in,  and  tell  me 
if  it  is  all  my  boasting. 

"  Come  hither,  father,"  said  Fritz,  "this 
is  really  extraordinary ;  his  iron  bar  seems 
to  have  got  to  a  hollow  place ;  see,  it  can  be 
moved  in  every  direction."  I  approached, 
thinking  the  incident  worth  attention  :  I  took 
hold  of  the  bar,  which  was  still  in  the  rock, 
and  working  it  about,  I  made  a  sufficient  ap- 
erture for  one  of  my  sons  to  pass,  and  I  ob- 
served that  in  reality  the  rubbish  fell  within 
the  cavity,  which  I  judged,  from  the  falling 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  517 

of  the  stones,  was  not  much  deeper  than  the 
part  we  stood  on.  My  two  lads  offered  to  go 
in  together  and  examine  it :  this,  however,  I 
forbade.  I  even  made  them  remove  from  the 
opening,  as  I  smelled  the  mephitic  air,  that 
issued  abundantly  from  it,  and  began  myself 
to  feel  giddiness  in  consequence  of  having 
gone  too  near ;  so  that  I  was  compelled  to 
withdraw  quickly,  and  inhale  a  purer  air. 
"Beware,  my  dear  children,"  said  I,  in  ter- 
ror, "  of  entering  such  places,  for  the  loss  of 
life  might  be  the  consequence." 

Jack.  —  How  can  that  be,  father  ? 

Father.  —  Because  the  air  is  mephitic,  that 
is,  foul,  and  therefore  unfit  for  breathing  in. 

Jack.  —  How  does  air  become  mephitic  ? 

Father.  —  In  different  ways  :  for  example, 
when  it  is  replete  with  noxious  vapors,  or 
when  it  contains  too  many  igneous  or  inflam- 
mable particles,  or  when  it  is  too  heavy  or 
dense,  as  fixed  air  is ;  but  in  general,  when 
it  merely  loses  its  elasticity,  it  no  longer 
passes  freely  into  the  lungs ;  respiration  is 
then  stopped,  and  suffocation  speedily  ensues, 
because  air  is  indispensable  to  life  and  the 
circulation  of  the  blood. 


518  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

Jack.  —  Then  all  to  be  done  is,  to  be  off 
quickly  when  one  feels  a  stoppage  of  breath. 

Father.  —  This  is  certainly  the  natural 
course,  when  it  can  be  taken ;  but  the  attack 
usually  begins  by  a  vertigo  or  dizziness  of 
the  head,  so  violent  as  to  intercept  motion, 
which  is  followed  by  an  insurmountable  op- 
pression ;  efforts  are  made  to  breathe,  faint- 
ing follows,  and,  without  speedy  help,  a  sud- 
den death  takes  place. 

Fritz.  —  What  assistance  can  be  adminis- 
tered ? 

Father.  —  The  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to 
remove  the  person  so  affected  to  pure  fresh 
air,  and  to  throw  cold  water  over  his  body ; 
he  must  then  be  well  dried,  and  afterwards 
rubbed  with  warm  cloths  ;  vital  air  must  be 
infused,  or  tobacco-smoke  thrown  up  ;  —  in 
short,  he  must  be  treated  like  a  drowned  per- 
son till  signs  of  reanimation  appear,  which  is 
not  always  the  result. 

Fritz.  —  But  why  do  you  think,  father,  the 
air  in  this  cavern  is  mephitic,  as  you  term  it, 
or  dangerous  to  breathe  in  ? 

Father.  —  All  air  confined  and  wholly  sep- 
arated from  that  of  the  atmosphere,  gradu- 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  519 

ally  loses  its  elasticity,  and  can  no  longer 
pass  through  the  lungs  :  in  this  state  it  gen- 
erates injurious  qualities  that  interrupt  the 
process  of  respiration.  It  is  in  this  act  that 
the  atmospheric  air  diffused  around  us,  unites 
intimately  with  the  blood,  to  which  it  com- 
municates one  of  its  most  essential  parts, 
called  vital  air,  for  without  it  life  cannot 
be  supported.  This  air  failing,  respiration 
ceases,  and  death  succeeds  in  a  few  minutes ; 
the  consequence  is  similar  when  this  air  is 
impregnated  too  abundantly  with  injurious 
parts. 

Fritz.  —  And  by  what  is  good  air  known  ? 
How  judge  that  one  may  respire  freely  at  a 
few  paces  from  this  mephitic  cave  ? 

Father.  —  This  becomes  evident  when  in- 
spiration and  expiration  are  performed  with 
ease ;  besides,  there  is  an  infallible  test :  fire 
does  not  burn  in  foul  air,  yet  it  is  made  the. 
means  of  correcting  it.  We  must  light  a  fire 
of  sufficient  strength  in  this  hole  to  purify 
the  air  within,  and  render  it  friendly  to  res- 
piration :  at  first  the  bad  air  will  extinguish 
the  fire,  but  by  degrees  the  fire  in  its  turn 
will  expel  the  bad  air  and  burn  freely. 


520  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

Fritz.  —  Oh  !  that  will  be  an  easy  matter. 

The  boys  now  hastened  to  gather  some  dry 
moss,  which  they  made  into  bundles;  they 
then  struck  a  light  and  set  fire  to  them,  and 
threw  the  moss  blazing  into  the  opening ;  but 
as  I  had  described,  the  fire  was  extinguished 
at  the  very  entrance,  thus  proving  that  the 
air  within  was  highly  mephitic.  I  now  saw 
that  it  was  to  be  rarefied  by  another  and 
more  effectual  method ;  I  recollected  that  we 
had  brought  from  the  vessel  a  chest  that  was 
full  of  grenades,  rockets,  and  other  fireworks, 
which  had  been  shipped  for  the  purpose  of 
making  signals,  as  well  as  for  amusement.  I 
sought  it  hastily,  and  took  some  of  these,  to- 
gether with  an  iron  mortar  for  throwing  ;  out 
of  it  I  laid  a  train  of  gunpowder,  and  set  fire 
to  the  end  which  reached  to  where  we  stood : 
a  general  explosion  took  place,  and  an  awful 
report  reverberated  through  the  dark  recess ; 
the  lighted  grenades  flew  about  on  all  sides 
like  brilliant  meteors,  rebounding  and  burst- 
ing with  a  terrific  sound.  We  then  sent  in 
the  rockets,  which  had  also  a  full  effect. 
They  hissed  in  the  cavity  like  flying  dragons, 
disclosing  to  our  astonished  view  its  vast  ex- 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  521 

tent.  We  beheld  too,  as  we  thought,  numer- 
ous dazzling  bodies,  that  sparkled  suddenly, 
as  if  by  magic,  and  disappeared  with  the  ra- 
pidity of  lightning,  leaving  the  place  in  total 
darkness,  A  squib  bursting  in  the  form  of  a 
star,  presented  a  spectacle  we  wished  to  be 
prolonged.  On  its  separating,  a  crowd  of 
little  winged  genii  came  forth,  each  holding 
a  small  lighted  lamp,  and  the  whole  fluttering 
in  every  direction  with  a  thousand  varied  re- 
verberations :  every  thing  in  the  cavern  shone 
brilliantly,  and  offered  instantly  a  truly  en- 
chanting sight ;  but  they  dropped  in  succes- 
sion, fell  to  the  ground  without  noise,  and 
vanished  like  ethereal  spirits. 

After  having  played  off  our  fireworks,  I 
tried  lighted  straw :  to  our  great  satisfaction, 
the  bundles  thrown  in  were  entirely  con- 
sumed ;  we  could  then  reasonably  hope  noth- 
ing was  to  be  feared  from  the  air ;  but  there 
still  remained  the  danger  of  plunging  into 
some  abyss  or  of  meeting  with  a  body  of  wa- 
ter. From  these  considerations,  I  deemed  it 
more  prudent  to  defer  our  entrance  into  this 
unknown  recess,  till  we  had  lights  to  guide  us 
through  it.     I  despatched  Jack  on  the  buffalo 


522  THE   SWISS   EAMILY   ROBINSON. 

to  Falcon  Stream,  to  tell  his  mother  and 
brothers  of  our  discovery,  directing  him  to 
return  with  them,  and  bring  all  the  tapers 
that  were  left :  my  intention  was  to  tie  them 
together  to  the  end  of  a  stick,  and  proceed 
with  it  lighted  to  examine  the  cavity.  I  had 
not  sent  Jack  on  his  embassy  without  a  mean- 
ing ;  the  boy  possessed  from  nature  a  lively 
imagination :  I  knew  he  would  tell  his  mother 
such  wonders  of  the  enchanted  grotto,  of  the 
fireworks,  and  all  they  had  brought  to  our 
view,  that  he  would  induce  her  to  accompany 
him  without  delay,  and  bring  us  lights  to  pen- 
etrate the  obscure  sanctuary. 

Jack,  overjoyed,  sprang  on  the  buffalo, 
gayly  smacked  his  whip,  and  set  off  so  boldly, 
that  I  almost  trembled  for  his  safety.  The 
intrepid  boy  was  unincumbered  by  fear,  and 
made  a  complete  race-horse  of  his  horned 
Bucephalus. 

In  three  or  four  hours  we  saw  them  coming 
up  in  our  car  of  state,  which  was  now  drawn 
by  the  cow  and  the  ass,  and  conducted  by 
Ernest.  Francis  too  played  his  part  in  the 
cavalcade,  and  contended  with  his  brother 
for  the  ropes  that  served  as  reins.     Jack, 


THE  SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  523 

mounted  on  his  buffalo,  came  prancing  before 
them ;  blew  through  his  closed  hand,  in  imi- 
tation of  the  French  horn,  and  now  and  then 
whipped  the  ass  and  cow  to  quicken  their 
motion.  When  they  had  crossed  Family 
Bridge,  he  came  forward  on  the  gallop ;  and 
when  he  got  to  us,  jumped  off  the  beast,  shook 
himself,  took  a  spring  or  two  from  the  ground, 
and  thus  refreshed,  ran  up  to  the  car  to  hand 
his  mother  out,  like  a  true  and  gallant  knight. 
I  immediately  lighted  some  of  the  tapers ; 
but  not  together,  as  I  had  intended ;  I  pre- 
ferred each  taking  one  in  his  right  hand,  an 
implement  in  his  left,  another  taper  in  his 
pocket,  flint  and  steel ;  and  thus  we  entered 
the  rock  in  solemn  procession.  I  took  the 
lead,  my  sons  followed  me,  and  their  beloved 
mother,  with  the  youngest,  brought  up  the 
rear.  The  interest  and  curiosity  she  felt 
were  not  unalloyed  with  tender  apprehen- 
sions ;  and  indeed  I  felt  myself  that  sort  of 
fear  which  an  unknown  object  is  apt  to  ex- 
cite, even  our  dogs  that  accompanied  us  be- 
trayed some  timidity,  and  did  not  run  before 
as  usual ;  but  we  had  scarcely  advanced  four 
paces  within  the  grotto,  when  all  was  changed 

.     S5 


524  THE   SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

to  more  than  admiration  and  surprise.  The 
most  beautiful  and  magnificent  spectacle  pre- 
sented itself.  The  sides  of  the  cavern  spar- 
kled like  diamonds,  the  light  from  our  six 
tapers  was  reflected  from  all  parts,  and  had 
the  effect  of  a  grand  illumination.  Innumer- 
able crystals  of  every  length  and  shape  hung 
from  the  top  of  the  vault;  which,  uniting 
with  those  of  the  sides,  formed  pillars,  altars, 
entablatures,  and  a  variety  of  other  figures, 
composing  the  most  splendid  masses.  We 
might  have  fancied  ourselves  in  the  palace 
of  a  fairy,  or  an  illumined  temple.  In  some 
places,  all  the  colors  of  the  prism  were  emit- 
ted from  the  angles  of  the  crystals,  and  gave 
them  the  appearance  of  the  finest  precious 
stones.  The  waving  of  the  lights,  their  bright 
coruscations,  dark  points  here  and  there  in- 
tervening, the  dazzling  lustre  of  others  —  the 
whole,  in  short,  delighted  and  enchanted  the 
sight  and  the  fancy.  «   ' 

The  astonishment  of  my  family  was  so 
great  as  to  be  almost  ludicrous ;  they  were 
all  in  a  kind  of  dumb  stupor,  half  imagining 
it  was  a  dream.  For  my  own  part,  I  had 
seen  stalactites,  and  read  the  description  of 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  525 

the  famous  grotto  of  Antiparos ;  my  sensa- 
tions, therefore,  were  not  the  same.  The 
bottom  was  level,  covered  with  a  white  and 
very  fine  sand,  as  if  purposely  strewed,  and 
so  dry,  that  I  could  not  see  the  least  mark 
of  humidity  anywhere.  All  this  led  me  to 
hope  the  spot  would  be  healthy,  convenient, 
and  eligible  for  our  proposed  residence.  I 
now  formed  a  particular  conjecture  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  crystalizations  shooting  out  on 
all  sides,  and  especially  from  the  arch- roof. 
They  could  scarcely  be  of  that  species  of 
rock-crystals  produced  by  the  slow  filtering 
of  water  falling  in  drops  and  coagulating  in 
succession,  and  seldom  found  in  excavations 
exhibiting  so  dry  a  nature,  nor  ever  with  so 
many  of  the  crystals  perpendicular  and  per- 
fectly smooth.  I  was  impatient  to  evince  the 
truth  or  falsehood  of  this  idea  by  an  experi- 
ment, and  discovered  with  great  joy,  on 
breaking  a  portion  of  one  of  them,  that  I  was 
in  a  grotto  of  sal  gem,  that  is,  fossil  or  rock 
salt,  found  in  the  earth  in  solid  crystalized 
masses,  generally  above  a  bed*  of  spar  or  gyp- 
sum, and  surrounded  by  layers  of  fossils  or 
rock.     The  discovery  of  this  fact,  which  no 


526  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

ionger  admitted  a  doubt,  pleased  us  all  ex- 
ceedingly. The  shape  of  the  crystals,  their 
little  solidity,  and  finally  their  saline  taste, 
were  decisive  evidences. 

How  highly  advantageous  to  us  and  our 
cattle  was  this  superabundance  of  salt,  pure 
and  ready  to  be  shoveled  out  for  use,  and 
preferable  in  all  respects  to  what  we  collected 
on  the  shore,  which  required  to  be  refined ! 
As  we  advanced  in  the  grotto,  remarkable 
figures  formed  by  the  saline  matter  every 
where  presented  themselves ;  columns  reach- 
ing from  the  bottom  to  the  top  of  the  vault 
appeared  to  sustain  it,  and  some  even  had 
cornices  and  capitals :  here  and  there  undu- 
lating masses  which  at  certain  distances  re- 
sembled the  sea.  From  the  variegated  and 
whimsical  forms  we  beheld,  fancy  might  make 
a  thousand  creations  at  its  pleasure :  win- 
dows, large  open  cupboards,  benches,  church 
ornaments,  grotesque  figures  of  men  and  an- 
imals ;  some  like  polished  crystals  or  dia- 
monds, others  like  blocks  of  alabaster. 

We  viewed  with  unwearied  curiosity  this 
repository  of  wonders,  and  we  had  all  lighted 
our  second  taper,  when  I  observed  oa  the 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  527 

ground  in  some  places  a  number  of  crystal 
fragments  that  seemed  to  have  fallen  off  from 
the  upper  part.  Such  a  separation  might 
recur,  find  expose  us  to  danger ;  a  piece  fall- 
ing on  any  of  our  heads  might  prove  instantly 
fatal.  But  on  closer  inspection,  I  was  con- 
vinced they  had  not  dropped  of  themselves 
spontaneously  ;  the  whole  mass  was  too  solid 
for  fragments  of  that  size  to  have  been  so  de- 
tached from  it :  and  had  dampness  loosened 
them,  they  would  have  dissolved  gradually : 
I  concluded  they  were  broken  off  by  the  con- 
cussion caused  by  the  explosion  of  our  artil- 
lery and  fire-works,  and  I  thought  it  prudent 
to  retire,  as  other  loosened  pieces  might  un- 
expectedly fall  on  us.  I  directed  my  wife 
and  three  of  the  children  to  place  themselves 
in  the  entrance,  while  Fritz  and  I  carefully 
examined  every  part  that  threatened  danger. 
We  loaded  our  guns  with  ball,  and  fired  them 
into  the  centre  of  the  cavern,  to  be  more  fully 
assured  of  what  produced  the  separation  of 
the  former  pieces  ;  one  or  two  more  fell ;  the 
rest  remained  immovable,  though  we  went 
round  with  long  poles,  and  struck  all  we  could 
reach.     We  at  length  felt  confident,  that  in 


528  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

point  of  solidity  there  was  nothing  to  fear, 
and  that  we  might  proceed  without  dread  of 
accident.  Loud  exclamations,  projects,  con- 
sultations, now  succeeded  to  our  mute  aston- 
ishment !  Many  schemes  were  formed  for 
converting  this  magnificent  grotto  into  a  con- 
venient and  agreeable  mansion  for  our  abode. 
We  had  possession  of  the  most  eligible  prem- 
ises ;  the  sole  business  was  to  turn  them  to 
the  best  account ;  and  how  to  effect  this  was 
our  unceasing  theme :  some  voted  for  our  im- 
mediate establishment  there,  but  they  were 
opposed  by  more  sagacious  counsel,  and  it 
was  resolved  that  Falcon's  Stream  should  still 
be  our  head-quarters  till  the  end  of  the  year. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

House  in  the  Salt  Rock ;  —  Herring  Fishery. 

The  lucky  discovery  of  a  previously  exist- 
ing cavern  in  the  rock,  had,  as  must  be  sup- 
posed, considerably  lessened  our  labor :  ex- 
cavation was  no  longer  requisite :  I  had  more 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  529 

room  than  was  wanted  for  the  construction 
of  our  dwelling :  to  render  it  habitable  was 
the  present  object,  and  to  do  this  did  not 
seem  a  difficult  task.  The  upper  bed  of  the 
rock,  in  front  of  the  cavern,  through  which 
my  little  Jack  had  dug  so  easily,  was  of  a 
soft  nature,  and  to  be  worked  with  moderate 
effort.  I  hoped  also  that,  being  now  exposed 
to  the  air  and  heat  of  the  sun,  it  would  be- 
come by  degrees  as  hard  and  compact  as  the 
first  layer  that  had  given  me  so  much  trouble. 
From  this  consideration  I  began,  while  it  re- 
tained its  soft  state,  to^make  openings  for  the 
doors  and  windows  of  the  front.  This  I  reg- 
ulated by  the  measurement  of  those  I  had 
fixed  in  my  winding  staircase,  which  I  had 
removed  for  the  purpose  of  placing  them  in 
our  winter  tenement.  Intending  Falcon's 
Nest  in  future  as  a  rural  retreat  for  the  hot- 
test days  of  summer,  the  windows  of  the  stair- 
case became  unnecessary ;  and  as  to  the  door, 
I  preferred  making  one  of  bark  similar  to 
that  of  the  tree  itself,  as  it  would  the  better 
conceal  our  abode,  should  we  at  any  time  ex- 
perience invasion  from  savages  or  other  ene- 
mies :    the  door  and  windows  were  therefore 


530  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

taken  to  Tent  House,  and  to  be  hereafter 
fixed  in  the  rock.  I  had  previously  marked 
out  the  openings  to  be  cut  for  the  frames, 
which  were  received  into  grooves  for  greater 
convenience  and  solidity.  I  took  care  not  to 
break  the  stone  taken  from  the  apertures,  or 
at  least  to  preserve  it  in  large  pieces,  and 
these  I  cut  with  the  saw  and  chisel  into  ob- 
longs an  inch  and  half  in  thickness,  to  serve 
as  tiles.  I  laid  them  in  the  sun,  and  was 
gratified  in  seeing  they  hardened  quickly;  I 
then  removed  them,  and  my  sons  placed  them 
in  order  against  the  siple  of  the  rock,  till  they 
were  wanted  for  our  internal  arrangements.. 
When  I  could  enter  the  cavern  freely  with 
a  good  doorway,  and  it  was  sufficiently  lighted 
by  the  windows,  I  erected  a  partition,  for  the 
distribution  of  our  apartments  and  other  con- 
veniences. The  extent  of  the  place  afforded 
ample  room  for  my  design,  and  even  allowed 
me  to  leave  several  spaces  in  which  salt  and 
other  articles  could  be  stored.  At  the  re- 
quest of  my  children,  I  was  cautious  to  injure 
as  little  as  possible  the  natural  embellish- 
ments of  this  new  family  mansion ;  but  with 
all  my  care,  I  could  not  avoid  demolishing 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  531 

them  in  the  division  allotted  to  the  stables : 
cattle  are  fond  of  salt,  and  would  not  have 
failed  to  eat  away  these  ornaments,  and  per- 
haps in  a  prejudicial  quantity :  however,  tp 
gratify  and  reward  my  obedient  children,  I 
preserved  the  finest  of  the  pillars,  and  the 
most  beautiful  pieces  to  decorate  our  saloon. 
The  large  ones  served  us  for  chairs  and  ta- 
bles ;  the  brilliant  pilasters,  at  once  enlivened 
and  adorned  the  apartment,  and  at  night 
multiplied  the  reflection  of  the  lights.  I  laid 
out  the  interior  in  the  following  manner :  A 
very  considerable  space  was  first  partitioned 
off  in  two  divisions ;  the  one  on  the  right  was 
appropriated  to  our  residence ;  that  on  the 
left  was  to  contain  the  kitchen,  stables,  and 
work-room.  At  the  end  of  the  second  divis- 
ion, where  windows  could  not  be  placed,  the 
cellar  and  store-room  were  to  be  formed  ;  the 
whole  separated  by  partition-boards,  with 
doors  of  communication,  so  as  to  give  us  a 
pleasant  and  comfortable  abode.  Favored 
so  unexpectedly  by  what  nature  had  already 
effected  of  the  necessary  labor,  we  were  far 
from  repining  ungratefully  at  what  remained 
to  be  done,  and  entertained  full  hope  of  com- 


532  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

pleting  the  undertaking,  or  at  least  the  chief 
parts,  before  winter. 

The  side  we  designed  to  lodge  in,  was  di- 
vided into  three  apartments ;  the  first,  next 
the  door,  was  the  bedroom  for  my  wife  and 
me,  the  second  a  dining-parlor,  and  the  last 
a  bedroom  for  the  boys:  as  we  had  only 
three  windows,  we  put  one  in  each  sleeping- 
room  ;  the  third  was  fixed  in  the  kitchen, 
where  my  wife  would  often  be.  A  grating 
for  the  present  fell  to  the  lot  of  our  dining- 
room,  which,  when  too  cold,  was  to  be  ex- 
changed for  one  of  thtf  other  apartments.  I 
contrived  a  good  fireplace  in  the  kitchen, 
near  the  window ;  I  pierced  the  rock  a  little 
above,  and  four  planks  nailed  together,  and 
passing  through  this  opening,  answered  the 
purpose  of  a  chimney.  We  made  the  work- 
room near  the  the  kitchen,  of  sufficient  di- 
mensions for  the  performance  of  undertakings 
of  some  magnitude  ;  it  served  also  to  keep  our 
cart  and  sledge  in :  lastly  the  stables,  which 
were  formed  into  four  compartments,  to  separ- 
ate the  different  species  of  animals,  occupied 
all  the  bottom  of  the  cavern  on  this  side ;  on 
the  other  were  the  cellar  and  magazine 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  533 

It  is  readily  imagined,  that  a  plan  of  this 
extent  was  not  to  be  executed  as  if  by  en- 
chantment, and  that  we  satisfied  ourselves  in 
the  first  instance  with  doing  what  was  most 
urgent,  reserving  the  residue  for  winter ;  yet 
every  day  forwarded  the  business  more  than 
we  had  been  aware  of.  On  every  excursion, 
we  brought  something  from  Falcon's  Stream, 
that  found  its  place  in  the  new  house,  where 
we  deposited  likewise,  in  safety,  the  remain- 
ing provisions  from  the  tent. 

The  long  stay  we  made  at  Tent-House  dur- 
ing these  employments,  furnished  us  an  op- 
portunity of  perceiving  several  advantages 
we  had  not  reckoned  upon.  Immense  turtles 
were  often  seen  on  the  shore,  where  they  de- 
posited their  eggs  in  the  sand,  and  they  re- 
galed us  with  a  rich  treat;  but,  extending 
our  wishes,  we  thought  of  getting  possession 
of  the  turtles  themselves  for  live  stock,  and 
of  feasting  on  them  whenever  we  pleased. 
As  soon  as  we  saw  one  on  the  sands,  one  of 
my  boys  was  despatched  to  cut  off  its  retreat ; 
meanwhile  we  approached  the  animal,  and 
quietly,  without  doing  it  any  injury,  turned  it 
on  its  back,  then  passed  a  long  cord  through 


534  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

the  shell,  and  tied  the  end  of  it  to  a  stake, 
which  we  fixed  close  to  the  edge  of  the  water. 
This  done,  we  set  the  prisoner  on  his  legs 
again  ;  it  hastened  into  the  sea,  but  could  not 
go  beyond  the  end  of  the  cord ;  apparently  it 
was  all  the  happier,  finding  food  with  more 
facility  along  shore  than  out  at  sea ;  and  we 
enjoyed  the  idea  of  being  able  to  take  it  when 
wanted.  I  say  nothing  of  sea-lobsters,  oys- 
ters, and  many  other  small  fishes,  which  we 
could  catch  in  any  number.  The  large  lob- 
sters, whose  flesh  was  tough  and  coarse,  were 
given  to  the  dogs,  who  preferred  them  to  po- 
tatoes ;  but  we  shortly  after  became  posses- 
sors of  another  excellent  winter  provision, 
which  chance  unexpectedly  procured  us. 

One  morning,  when  near  Safety  Bay,  a 
singular  sort  of  spectacle  presented  itself. 
At  some  distance  from  the  shore  an  exten- 
sive surface  of  the  water  seemed  in  a  state 
of  ebulition,  as  if  heated  by  a  subterraneous 
fire :  it  swelled,  subsided,  foamed,  like  boil- 
ing water :  a  large  number  of  aquatic  birds 
hovered  over  it,  sometimes  they  darted  along 
the  surface  of  the  water,  sometimes  rose  in 
the  air,  flying  in  a  circle,  pursuing  each  other 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  535 

in  every  direction  ;  we  were  at  a  loss  to  judge 
whether  sportiveness,  pleasure,  or  warfare 
produced  their  motions. 

My  wife  and  the  boys  stood  for  a  long 
time  admiring  this  phenomenon,  and  indulged 
themselves  in  various  ludicrous  conjectures 
concerning  it,  till  I  at  last  informed  them 
that  the  movable  bank  before  us  was  neither 
more  nor  less  than  a  shoal  of  herrings  about 
to  enter  Safety  Bay,  and  fall  into  our  hands. 
All  now  had  questions  without  end  to  propose 
about  their  appearing  in  such  numbers,  and  I 
answered,  that  at  a  certain  season,  herrings 
leave  the  Frozen  Sea  together  in  a  heap. 
They  swim  so  close  to  each  other,  and  oc- 
cupy such  a  space,  as  to  appear  like  a  bank 
or  island  of  sand,  several  leagues  in  breadth, 
some  fathoms  deep,  and  sometimes  above  a 
hundred  thousand  long.  They  afterwards 
divide  into  bodies,  directing  their  course  to 
the  coasts  and  bays,  where  they  spawn,  that 
is,  leave  their  eggs  among  the  stones  and  sea- 
plants,  and  to  these  spots  the  fishermen  from 
all  parts  go  to  catch  them.  The  herrings 
appear  eager  to  reach  those  parts  where  the 
tide  is  lowest,  to  escape  the  voracity  of  the 


536  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

large  fishes  which  pursue  them,  by  getting 
into  shallow  water;  but  in  doing  this,  they 
become  an  easier  prey  to  the  birds  and  to 
man.  Exposed  to  destruction  in  so  many 
ways,  one  might  wonder  the  species  is  not 
extinct,  if  nature  had  not  provided  against 
these  accidents  by  their  astonishing  fecund- 
ity:  68,656  eggs  have  been  found  in  a  mod- 
erate-sized female  :  thus  they  continue  undi- 
minished, notwithstanding  the  vast  numbers 
which  are  destroyed. 

By  this  time  the  shoal  of  herrings  had 
reached  the  entrance  of  our  bay.  They  made 
a  loud  rustling  noise  in  the  water,  leaping 
over  each  other,  and  displaying  their  scales 
of  silver  hue.  This  accounted  for  the  lumi- 
nous sparks  we  had  seen  emitted  from  the 
sea,  and  which  we  could  not  previously  ex- 
plain. We  had  no  time  for  further  contem- 
plation, but  hastened  to  unharness  our  team, 
and  supply  the  want  of  nets  with  our  hands 
in  catching  the  herrings :  the  boys  used  the 
largest  gourds  in  lieu  of  pails,  which  were  no 
sooner  clipped  in  than  filled ;  and  we  should 
have  been  at  a  loss  where  to  stow  them,  had 
I  not  thought  of  employing  the  condemned 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  537 

boat  of  tubs.  It  was  accordingly  drawn  to  the 
water's  edge  by  the  buffalo,  and  placed  on 
rollers.  My  wife  and  the  two  youngest  lads 
cleaned  it,  whilst  the  other  two  went  to  the 
cavern  for  salt,  and  I  quickly  fitted  up  a  sort 
of  tent  of  sail-cloth  on  the  strand,  so  as  to  keep 
off  the  rays  of  the  sun  while  we  were  busied  in 
salting.  We  then  all  engaged  in  the  task,  and 
I  allotted  to  each  a  share  adequate  to  his 
strength  and  skill.  Fritz  took  his  station  in 
the  water,  to  bring  us  the  herrings  as  fast  as 
caught.  Ernest  and  Jack  cleaned  them  with 
knives,  their  mother  pounded  the  salt ;  Fran- 
cis helped  all,  and  I  placed  them  in  the  tubs  as 
I  had  seen  done  in  Europe ;  while  a  joyous 
shout  declared  the  general  activity.  I  put  a 
layer  of  salt  at  the  bottom  of  the  barrel,  then 
of  fish,  the  heads  towards  the  staves,  pro- 
ceeding thus  till  my  tubs  were  nearly  full : 
I  spread  over  the  last  layer  of  salt  large 
palm-tree  leaves,  on  these  a  piece  of  sail-cloth, 
and  fitted  in  two  half-rounded  planks  for  a 
heading,  which  I  pressed  down  with  stones. 
This  effected,  I  put  the  buffalo  and  the  ass 
to  the  cart  again,  and  conveyed  it  to  our  cool 
cellar  in  the  rock.     In  a  few  days,  when  the 


538  THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

herrings  were  sunk,  I  closed  the  barrels  more 
accurately  by  means  of  a  coating  of  clay  and 
flax  over  the  cloth,  which  kept  out  air  and 
moisture  completely,  and  secured  us  an  ex- 
cellent food  for  winter. 

Scarcely  had  we  finished  our  salting,  when 
another  novelty  occurred :  a  number  of  sea- 
dogs  came  into  the  bay  and  river,  that  had 
followed  the  herrings  with  the  utmost  greed- 
iness, sporting  in  the  water  along  shore,  with- 
out evincing  any  fear  of  us.  The  fish  pre- 
sented no  attraction  to  the  palate,  but  its 
skin,  tanned  and  dressed,  makes  excellent 
leather.  I  was  in  great  need  of  it  for  straps 
and  harness,  to  make  saddles  for  Fritz  and 
Jack  to  ride  the  onagra  and  buffalo,  and  in 
short  for  our  own  use  to  cut  up  into  soles, 
belts,  and  pantaloons,  of  which  articles  we 
much  wanted  a  fresh  supply :  besides,  I  knew 
the  fat  yielded  good  lamp  oil,  that  might  be 
substituted  for  tapers  in  the  long  evenings  of 
winter ;  and  that  it  would  be  further  useful 
in  tanning  and  rendering  the  leather  pliant. 

We  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  again  suc- 
cessful, and  in  a  short  time  we  secured  a  suf- 
ficient number  of  them,  and  carefully  pre^ 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  539 

served  the- fat,  of  which  we  collected  a  large 
quantity ;  it  was  first  put  into  a  copper, 
melted  and  cleansed  properly,  then  poured 
into  casks,  and  kept  for  the  tan-house  and 
lamp.  When  time  should  allow,  I  purposed 
making  soap  with  it,  and  this  design  excited 
my  wife's  zeal  in  the  unpleasant  though  ul- 
timately useful  task  we  were  engaged  in. 
We  also  took  care  of  the  bladders,  which  are 
very  large,  for  the  purpose  of  holding  liquids ; 
the  remaining  parts  that  could  not  be  turned 
to  account  were  thrown  into  the  river. 

At  this  time  I  likewise  made  some  im- 
provements in  our  sledge,  to  facilitate  the 
carrying  of  stores  from  Falcon's  Stream  to 
our  dwelling  in  the  rock  at  Tent-House.  I 
raised  it  on  two  beams,  on  axle-trees,  at  the 
extremities  of  which  I  put  on  the  four  gun- 
carriage  wheels  I  had  taken  off  the  cannon 
from  the  vessel ;  by  this  alteration  I  obtained 
a  light  and  convenient  vehicle,  of  moderate 
height,  on  which  boxes  and  casks  could  be 
placed.  Pleased  with  the  operations  of  the 
week,  we  set  out  all  together  with  cheerful 
hearts  for  Falcon's  Stream,  to  pass  our  Sun- 
day there,   and   once  more   offer   our  pious 

36 


540  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

thanks  to  the  Almighty,  for  all  the  benefits 
he  had  bestowed  upon  his  defenseless  crea- 
tures. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

New  Fishery;  —  New  Experiments;  —  New  Dis- 
coveries, and  House. 

The  enterprise  of  our  dwelling  went  on, 
sometimes  as  a  principal,  sometimes  as  an 
intermediate  occupation,  according  to  the 
greater  or  less  importance  of  other  concerns  ; 
but  though  we  advanced  thus  with  moderate 
rapidity,  the  progress  was  such  as  to  afford 
the  hope  of  our  being  settled  within  it  by  the 
time  of  the  rainy  season. 

From  the  moment  I  discovered  gypsum  to 
be  the  basis  of  the  crystal  salt  in  our  grotto, 
I  foresaw  some  great  advantages  I  should 
derive  from  it ;  but  to  avoid  enlarging  the 
dimensions  of  our  house  by  digging  further, 
I  tried  to  find  a  place  in  the  continuation  of 
the  rock,  which  I  might  be  able  to  blow  up : 
I  had  soon  the  good  fortune  to  meet  with  a 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  541 

narrow  slip  between  the  projections  of  the 
rock,  which  I  could  easily,  by  the  means  I 
proposed,  convert  in.to  a  passage  that  should 
terminate  in  our  work-room.  I  found  also 
on  the  ground  a  quantity  of  fragments  of 
gypsum,  and  removed  a  great  number  of 
them  to  the  kitchen,  where  we  did  not  fail  to 
bake  a  few  of  the  pieces  at  a  time  when  we 
made  a  fire  for  cooking,  which,  thus  calcined, 
rubbed  into  a  powder  when  cold :  we  obtained 
a  considerable  quantity  of  it,  which  I  put 
carefully  into  casks  for  use,  when  the  time 
should  come  for  finishing  the  interior  of  our 
dwelling.  My  notion  was,  to  form  the  walls 
for  separating  the  apartments,  of  the  squares 
of  stone  I  had  already  provided,  and  to  unite 
them  together  with  a  cement  of  this  new  in- 
gredient, which  would  be  the  means,  both  of 
sparing  the  timber,  and  increasing  the  beauty 
and  solidity  of  the  work. 

It  is  almost  incredible  the  immense  quanti- 
ty of  plaster  we  had  in  a  short  time  amassed ; 
the  boys  were  in  a  constant  state  of  wonder 
as  they  looked  at  the  heap.  I  seized  the  op- 
portunity of  imprinting  on  their  minds  the 
value  of  a  firm  and  steady  perseverance  in 
vv 


542  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

an  object  once  engaged  in,  the  reward  of 
which  they  now  so  agreeably  experienced. 
"  When  we  first  cast  our#eyes,"  continued  I, 
"  on  this  rock,  how  little  did  we  conceive  it 
possible  to  transform  it  into  a  comfortable 
dwelling-place ;  yet  we  have  not  only  in  our 
persons  sufficed  for  carpenters  and  masons, 
but  even  plasterers  too ;  and  so  effectually, 
that,  if  we  had  it  much  at  heart,  we  might 
adorn  our  walls  wTith  stucco,  as  is  the  mode 
in  Europe :  we  possess  both  the  materials 
and  the  intelligence ;  and  with  the  addition 
of  patience  and  industry,  there  is  scarcely 
any  thing,  even  what  at  first  should  seem  im- 
possible, too  difficult  for  our  performance." 

The  first  use  I  made  of  the  plaster  was  to 
complete  some  covers  I  had  begun  with  other 
materials  for  my  herring  tubs,  four  of  which 
I  stopped  down  to  render  them  impenetrable 
to  the  air;  the  rest  of  the  herrings  we  in- 
tended to  dry  and  smoke.  For  this  purpose 
we  erected  a  little  sort  of  hut  of  reeds  and 
branches,  as  is  practised  in  Holland  and 
America  by  the  fishermen :  we  placed  rows 
of  sticks,  reaching  from  side  to  side,  across 
the  hut,  laid  the  herrings  upon  them,  and 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  543 

then  lighted  a  heap  composed  of  moss  and 
fresh  cut  branches  of  trees,  to  produce  a 
stronger  and  more  effective  vapor  for  the  pur- 
pose :  we  made  the  door  tight,  and  had  soon 
the  pleasure  of  adding  a  large  stock  of  ex- 
quisitely flavored  dried  herrings  to  our  former 
store  for  the  ensuing  winter. 

About  a  month  after  the  singular  visit  of 
the  herrings,  which  had  now  entirely  left  our 
shores,  we  received  another,  and  not  a  less 
profitable  one,  from  a  fish  of  a  different  spe- 
cies :  we  observed  Safety  Bay  to  be  filled 
with  large  fishes,  which  seemed  eager  t»  push 
to  the  shore,  for  the  purpose  of  depositing 
their  eggs  among  the  stones  in  fresh  water. 

As  Jack  and  I  were  walking  near  the 
mouth  of  Jackal's  River  we  perceived  im- 
mense quantities  of  a  large  fish  moving  slowly 
towards  the  banks.  As  they  came  nearer,  I 
distinguished  the  largest  to  be  sturgeons,  by 
the  pointed  snout,  while  the  smallest  I  pro- 
nounced to  be  salmon.  Jack  now  strutted 
about  in  ecstacies.  "  What  say  you  now,  fa- 
ther ?  "  said  he ;  "this  is  nothing  like  your 
little  paltry  herrings  !  A  single  fish  of  this 
troop  would  fill  a  tub  !  "  —  "  No  doubt,"  an- 


544  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

swered  I :  and  with  great  gravity  I  added, 
— "Prithee,  Jack,  step  into  the  river,  and 
fling  them  to  me  one  by  one,  that  I  may  take 
them  home  to  salt  and  dry." 

He  looked  at  me  for  a  moment  with  a  sort 
of  vacant  doubt  if  I  could  possibly  be  in  earn- 
est;  then  seizing  suddenly  a  new  idea  — 
"Wait  a  moment,  father,"  cried  he,  "and  I 
will  do  so  :  "  and  he  sprang  off  like  lightning 
towards  the  cavern,  from  whence  he  soon  re- 
turned loaded  with  a  bow  and  arrows,  the 
bladders  of  the  sea-dogs,  and  a  ball  of  string 
to  catch,  as  he  assured  me,  every  one  of  the 
fishes.  I  looked  on  with  interest  and  curios- 
ity to  mark  what  was  next  to  happen,  while 
the  animation  of  his  countenance,  the  promp- 
titude and  boyish  gracefulness  of  his  motions, 
and  the  firm  determination  of  his  manner, 
afforded  me  the  highest  amusement.  He  tied 
the  bladders  round  at  certain  distances  with 
a  long  piece  of  string,  to  the  end  of  which  he 
fastened  an-  arrow  and  a  small  iron  hook  ;  he 
placed  the  large  ball  of  string  in  a  hole  in 
the  ground,  at  a  sufficient  distance  from  the 
water's  edge,  and  then  he  shot  off  an  arrow, 
which  the  next  instant  stuck  in  one  of  the 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  545 

largest  fishes.  My  young  sportsman  uttered 
a  shout  of  joy.  At  the  same  moment  Fritz 
joined  us,  and  witnessed  this  unexpected 
feat  without  the  least  symptom  of  jealousy. 
"Well  done,  brother  Jack,"  cried  he,  "but 
let  me  too  have  my  turn."  —  Saying  this,  he 
ran  back  and  fetched  the  harpoon  and  the 
windlass,  and  returned  to  us  accompanied  by 
Ernest.  We  were  well  pleased  with  their  op- 
portune arrival,  for  the  salmon  Jack  had 
pierced  struggled  so  fiercely,  that  all  our  en- 
deavors to  hold  the  string  were  insufficient, 
and  we  dreaded  at  every  throw  to*  see  it 
break,  and  the  animal  make  good  its  escape. 
By  degrees,  however,  its  strength  was  ex- 
hausted, and  aided  by  Fritz  and  Ernest,  we 
succeeded  in  drawing  it  to  a  bank,  where  I 
put  an  end  to  its  existence. 

This  fortunate  beginning  of  a  plan  for  a 
fishery  inspired  us  all  with  hope  and  emula- 
tion. Fritz  eagerly  seized  his  harpoon  and 
windlass ;  I,  for  my  part,  like  Neptune, 
wielded  a  trident ;  Ernest  prepared  the  large 
fishing-rod ;  and  Jack  his  arrow,  with  the 
same  apparatus  as  before,  not  forgetting  the 
bladders,  which  were  so  effectual  in  prevent- 


546  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

ing  the  fish  from  sinking  when  struck.  We 
were  now  more  than  ever  sensible  of  our  loss 
in  the  destruction  of  the  tub-boat,  with  which 
we  could  have  pursued  the  creature  in  the 
water,  and  have  been  spared  much  pains  and 
difficulty ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  such  num- 
bers of  fishes  presented  themselves  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  that  we  had  only  to  choose 
among  them.  Jack's  arrow,  after  missing 
twice,  struck  the  third  time  a  large  sturgeon, 
which  was  so  untractable  that  we  had  great 
difficulty  in  securing  him.  I  too  had  caught 
two  of  the  same  fish,  and  had  been  obliged 
to  go  up  to  the  middle  in  the  water  to  man- 
age my  booty.  Ernest,  with  his  rod  and  line 
and  a  hook,  had  also  taken  two  smaller  ones. 
Fritz,  with  his  harpoon,  had  struck  a  stur- 
geon at  least  eight  feet  in  length,  and  the 
skill  and  strength  of  our  whole  company  were 
found  necessary  to  conduct  him  safe  to  shore, 
where  we  harnessed  the  buffalo  to  him  with 
strong  cords  to  draw  him  to  Tent-House. 

Our  first  concern  was  to  clean  our  fish 
thoroughly  inside,  to  preserve  them  fresh  the 
longer.  I  separated  the  eggs  I  found  in 
them,  and  which  could  not  be  less  than  thirty 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  547 

pounds,  and  put  them  aside  to  make  a  dish 
called  caviar,  greatly  relished  by  the  Rus- 
sians and  the  Dutch.  I  took  care  also  of 
the  bladders,  thinking  it  might  be  possible  to 
make  a  glue  from  them,  which  would  be  use- 
ful for  so  many  purposes.  I  advised  my  wife 
to  boil  some  individuals  of  the  salmon  in  oil, 
similar  to  the  manner  of  preparing  tunny  fish 
in  the  Mediterranean  :  and  while  she  was  en- 
gaged in  this  process,  I  was  at  work  upon  the 
caviar  and  the  glue.  For  the  first,  I  washed 
the  berries  in  several  waters,  and  then  pressed 
them  closely  in  gourd-rinds  in  whicl^a  certain 
number  of  holes  had  been  bored.  When  the 
water  had  run  off,  the  berries  were  taken  out 
in  a  substance  like  cheese,  which  was  then 
conveyed  to  the  hut  to  be  dried  and  smoked. 
For  the  second,  we  cut  the  bladders  into 
strips,  which  we  fastened  firmly  by  one  end 
to  a  stake,  and  taking  hold  of  the  other  with 
a  pair  of  pincers,  we  turned  them  round  and 
round  till  the  strip  was  reduced  to  a  kind  of 
knot,  and  these  were  then  placed  in  the  sun 
to  harden ;  this  being  the  simple  and  only 
preparation  necessary  for  obtaining  glue  from 
the   ingredient.      When   thoroughly  dry,  a 


548  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

small  quantity  is  put  on  a  slow  fire  to  melt. 
We  succeeded  so  well,  and  our  glue  was  of  so 
transparent  a  quality,  that  I  could  not  help 
feeling  the  desire  to  manufacture  some  pieces 
large  enough  for  panes  to  a  window-frame. 

When  these  various  concerns  were  com- 
plete, we  began  to  meditate  a  plan  for  con- 
structing a  small  boat  as  a  substitute  for  the 
tub-raft,  to  come  close  into  shore.  I  had  a 
great  desire  to  make  it,  as  the  savages .  do, 
of  the  rind  of  a  tree ;  but  the  difficulty  was 
to  fix  on  one  of  sufficient  bulk  for  my  pur- 
pose ;  for  though  many  were  to  be  found  in 
our  vicinity,  yet  each  was  on  some  account 
or  other  of  too  much  value  to  be  spared. 
We  therefore  resolved  to  make  a  little  excur- 
sion in  pursuit  of  a  tree  of  capacious  dimen- 
sions, and  in  a  situation  where  it  was  not 
likely  to  yield  us  fruit,  to  refresh  us  with  its 
shade,  or  to  adorn  the  landscape  round  our 
dwelling. 

In  this  expedition,  we  as  usual  aimed  at 
more  than  one  object :  eager  as  we  were  for 
new  discoveries,  we  yet  allowed  ourselves  the 
time  to  visit  our  different  plantations  and 
stores  at  Falcon's  Stream.      We  were  also 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  549 

desirous  to  secure  a  new  supply  of  the  wax 
berry,  of  gourds,  and  of  elastic  gum.  Our 
kitchen-garden  at  Tent-House  was  in  a  flour- 
ishing condition  ;  nothing  could  exceed  the 
luxuriance  of  the  vegetation,  and,  almost 
without  the  trouble  of  cultivation,  we  had 
excellent  roots  and  plants  in  abundance, 
■which  came  in  succession,  and  promised  a 
rich  supply  of  pease,  beans  of  all  sorts,  let- 
tuces, &c. ;  our  principle  labor  was  to  give 
them  water  freely,  that  they  might  be  fresh 
and  succulent  for  use.  We  had  besides,  mel- 
ons and  cucumbers  in  great  plenty,  which, 
during  the  hottest  weather,  we  valued  more 
than  all  the  rest.  We  reaped  a  considerable 
quantity  of  Turkey  wheat  from  the  seed  we 
had  sown,  and  some  of  the  ears  were  a  foot 
in  length.  Our  sugar-canes  were  also  in  the 
most  prosperous  condition,  and  one  plantation 
of  pine-apples  on  the  high  ground  was  also  in 
progress  to  reward  our  labor  with  abundance 
of  that  delicious  fruit. 

This  state  of  general  prosperity  at  Tent- 
House  gave  us  the  most  flattering  expecta- 
tions from  our  nurseries  at  Falcon's  Stream. 
Full  of  these  hopes,  we  one  day  set  out  alto- 


550  THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

gether  for  our  somewhat  neglected  formei 
abode. 

We  arrived  at  Falcon's  Stream,  where  we 
intended  to  pass  the  night.  We  visited  the 
ground  my  wife  had  so  plentifully  sowed  with 
grain,  which  had  sprung  up  with  an  almost 
incredible  rapidity  and  luxuriance,  and  was 
now  nearly  ready  for  reaping.  We  cut  down 
what  was  fairly  ripe,  bound  it  together  in 
bundles,  and  conveyed  it  to  a  place  where  it 
would  be  secure  from  the  attacks  of  more  ex- 
pert grain  consumers  than  ourselves,  of  which 
thousands  hovered  round  the  booty.  We 
reaped  barley,  wheat,  rye,  oats,  pease,  millet, 
lentils,  — only  a  small  quantity  of  each,  it  is 
true,  but  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  sow  again 
plentifully  at  the  proper  season.  The  plant 
that  had  yielded  the  most  was  maize,  a  proof 
that  it  best  loved  the  soil.  It  had  already 
shown  itself  in  abundance  in  our  garden  at 
Tent-House  ;  but  here  there  was  a  surface 
of  land,  the  size  of  an  ordinary  field,  entirely 
covered  with  its  splendid  golden  ears,  which 
still  more  than  the  other  plants  attracted  the 
voracity  of  the  feathered  race.  The  moment 
we  drew  near,  a  dozen  at  least  of  large  bus- 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  551 

tards  sprang  up  with  a  loud  rustling  noise 
which  awakened  the  attention  of  the  dogs ; 
they  plunged  into  the  thickest  parts,  and 
routed  numerous  flocks  of  birds  of  all  kinds 
and  sizes,  who  took  hastily  to  flight:  among 
the  fugitives  were  some  quails,  who  escaped 
by  running ;  and  lastly  some  kangaroos, 
whose  prodigious  leaps  enabled  them  to  elude 
the  pursuit  of  the  dogs. 

We  were  so  overcome  by  the  surprise  such 
an  assemblage  of  living  creatures  occasioned, 
as  to  forget  the  resource  we  had  in  our  guns  ; 
we  stood  as  it  were  stupid  with  amazement 
during  the  first  moments,  and  before  we  came 
to  ourselves,  the  prey  was  beyond  our  reach, 
and  for  the  most  part  out  of  sight.  Fritz 
was  the  first  to  perceive  and  to  feel  with  in- 
dignation the  silly  part  we  had  been  playing, 
and  to  consider  in  what  way  we  could  repair 
the  mischief.  Without  further  loss  of  time, 
he  took  the  bandage  from  his  eagle's  eyes 
(for  the  bird  always  accompanied  him  perched 
upon  his  game-bag),  and  showed  him  with  his 
hand  the  bustards  still  flying,  and  at  no  great 
distance.  The  eagle  took  a  rapid  flight. 
Fritz  jumped  like  lightning  on  the  back  of 


552  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

his  onagra,  and  galloped  over  every  thing 
that  intervened,  in  the  direction  the  bird  had 
taken,  and  we  soon  lost  sight  of  him. 

We  now  beheld  a  spectacle  which  in  the 
highest  degree  excited  our  curiosity  and  in- 
terest :  the  eagle  had  soon  his  prey  in  view ; 
he  mounted  above  one  of  the  bustard  in  a 
direct  line,  without  losing  sight  of  it  for  an 
instant,  and  then  darted  suddenly  down ;  the 
bustards  flew  about  in  utter  confusion,  now 
seeking  shelter  in  the  bushes,  then  crossing 
each  other  in  every  direction,  in  the  attempt 
to  evade  the  common  enemy ;  but  the  eagle 
remained  steady  in  pursuit  of  the  bird  he  had 
fixed  upon  for  his  prey,  and  disregarded  all 
the  rest:  he  alighted  on  the  unlucky  bus- 
tard, fixed  his  claws  and  his  beak  in  its  back, 
till  Fritz,  arriving  full  gallop,  got  down  from 
the  onagra,  replaced  the  bandage  on  the  ea- 
gle's eyes,  seated  him  once  more  upon  the 
game-bag,  and  having  relieved  the  poor  bus- 
tard from  his  persecutor,  he  shouted  to  us  to 
come  and  witness  his  triumph.  We  ran 
speedily  to  the  place. 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  adventure,  we 
hastened  forward  to  Falcon's  Stream,  and 


THE  SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  553 

dressed  the  wounds  of  the  bustard.  We  per- 
ceived with  pleasure  that  it  was  a  male,  and 
foresaw  the  advantage  of  giving  him  for  a 
companion  to  our  solitary  female  of  the  same 
species,  which  was  completely  tamed.  I 
threw  a  few  more  bundles  of  maize  into  the 
cart,  and  without  further  delay  we  arrived  at 
our  tree,  one  and  all  sinking  with  faintness 
from  hunger,  thirst,  and  fatigue.  It  was  on 
such  occasions  that  my  exemplary  partner 
evinced  the  superior  fortitude  and  generosity 
of  her  temper :  though  necessarily  more  a 
sufferer  than  the  rest,  her  first  thought  was 
always  what  she  could  administer  to  relieve 
us  in  the  shortest  time.  On  this  occasion,  as 
we  had  consumed  our  little  store  of  wine, 
and  could  not  soon  and  easily  procure  milk 
from  the  cow,  she  contrived  to  bruise  some 
of  the  maize  between  two  large  stones,  and 
then  put  it  in  a  linen  cloth,  and  with  all  her 
strength  squeezed  out  the  sap  ;  she  then  added 
some  juice  from  the  sugar-canes,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  presented  us  with  a  draught  of  a  cool 
refreshing  liquid,  invitingly  white  to  the  eye, 
and  agreeable  to  the  taste,  which  we  received 
at  her  hands  with  feelings  of  grateful  emotion. 


554  THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

The  rest  of  the  day  was  erupted  in  pick- 
ing the  grains  of  the  different  sorts  of  corn 
from  the  stalks :  we  put  what  we  wished  to 
keep  for  sowing,  into  some  gourd  shells,  and 
the  Turkey  wheat  was  laid  carefully  aside  in 
sheaves  till  we  should  have  time  to  beat  and 
separate  it.  Fritz  observed  that  we  should 
also  want  to  grind  it ;  and  I  reminded  him 
of  the  handmill  we  had  secured  from  our  de- 
parted ally,  the  wrecked  vessel. 

Fritz.  —  But,  father,  the  handmill  is  so 
small,  and  so  subject  to  be  put  out  of  order : 
—  why  should  we  not  contrive  a  watermill, 
as  they  do  in  Europe  ?  We  have  surely  rapid 
streams  of  water  in  abundance. 

Father.  —  This  is  true ;  but  such  a  me- 
chanism is  more  difficult  than  you  imagine. 
The  wheel  alone,  I  conceive,  would  be  an  un- 
dertaking far  beyond  our  strength  or  our  ca- 
pacity. I  am,  however,  well  pleased  with  the 
activity  and  zeal  which  prompted  your  idea  ; 
and  we  will  hereafter  consider  whether  it 
may  be  worth  while  to  bestow  upon  it  fur- 
ther attention.  We  have  abundance  of  time 
before  us,  for.  we  shall  not  want  a  watermill 
till  our  harvests  are  such  as  to  produce  plen- 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  555 

tiful  crops  of  corn.  In  the  meantime,  let  us 
be  thinking  of  our  proposed  excursion  for  to- 
morrow ;  for  we  should  set  out,  at  least,  by 
sunrise. 

We  began  our  preparations  accordingly. 
My  wife  chose  some  hens  and  two  fine  cocks, 
with  the  intention  of  taking  them  with  us, 
and  leaving  them  at  large  to  produce  a  col- 
ony of  their  species  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  our  dwelling  places :  I,  with  the  same 
view,  visited  our  beasts,  and  selected  four 
young  pigs,  four  sheep,  two  kids,  and  one 
male  of  each  species ;  our  numbers  having  so 
much  increased,  that  we  could  well  afford  to 
spare  these  individuals  for  the  experiment. 
If  we  succeeded  in  thus  accustoming  them  to 
the  natural  temperature  and  productions  of 
our  island,  we  should  have  eased  ourselves  of 
the  burden  of  their  support,  and  should  al- 
ways be  able  to  find  them  at  pleasure. 

The  next  morning,  after  loading  the  cart 
with  all  things  necessary,  not  forgetting  the 
rope-ladder  and  the  portable  tent,  we  quitted 
Falcon's  Stream.  The  animals,  with  their 
legs  tied,  were  all  stationed  in  the  vehicle, 

We  left  abundance  of  food  for  those  that  re- 

37 


556  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

mained  behind;  the  cow,  the  ass,  and  the 
buffalo,  were  harnessed  to  the  cart;  and 
Fritz,  mounted  on  his  favorite,  the  onagra, 
pranced  along  before  us,  to  ascertain  the  best 
and  smoothest  path  for  the  cavalcade. 

We  took  this  time  a  new  direction,  which 
was  straight  forward  between  the  rocks  and 
the  shore,  that  we  might  make  ourselves  ac- 
quainted with  every  thing  contained  in  the 
island  we  seemed  destined  forever  to  inhabit. 
In  effect,  the  line  proceeding  from  Falcon's 
Stream  to  Safety  Bay,  might  be  said  to  be 
the  extent  of  our  dominions :  for  as  to  the 
adjacent  exquisite  country  of  the  buffaloes, 
Fritz  and  I  had  discovered,  that  the  passage 
to  it  by  the  end  of  the  rocks  was  so  danger- 
ous, and  at  so  great  a  distance,  that  we  could 
not  hope  to  domiciliate  ourselves  upon  its 
soil,  as  we  had  done  on  our  side  of  the  rocks. 
We  found,  as  usual,  much  difficulty  in  push- 
ing through  the  tall  tough  grass,  and  alter- 
nately through  the  thick  prickly  bushes  which 
everywhere  obtruded  themselves.  We  were 
often  obliged  to  turn  aside,  while  I  cut  a  pas- 
sage with  my  hatchet :  but  these  accidents 
seldom  failed  to  reward  my  toil  by  the  dis- 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  557 

eovery  of  different  small  additions  to  our  gen- 
eral comforts ;  among  others,  some  roots  of 
trees  curved  by  nature  to  serve  both  for  sad- 
dles and  yokes  for  our  beasts  of  burden.  I 
took  care  to  secure  several,  and  put  them  in 
the  cart. 

In  about  an  hour  we  found  ourselves  at  the 
extremity  of  the  wood,  and  a  most  singular 
phenomenon  presented  itself  to  our  view :  a 
small  plain,  or  rather  a  grove  of  low  bushes, 
to  appearance  almost  covered  with  flakes  of 
snow,  lay  extended  before  us.  Little  Fran- 
cis was  the  first  to  call  our  attention  to  it,  he 
being  seated  in  the  cart.  "  Look,  father," 
cried  he,  "here  is  a  place  full  of  snow;  let 
me  get  down,  and  make  some  snow-balls."  I 
could  not  resist  a  hearty  laugh,  though  my- 
self completely  at  a  loss  to  explain  the  nature 
of  what  in  color  and  appearance  bore  so  near 
a  resemblance  to  it.  Suddenly,  however,  a 
suspicion  crossed  my  mind,  and  was  soon 
confirmed  by  Fritz,  who  had  darted  forward 
on  his  onagra,  and  now  returned  with  one 
hand  filled  with  tufts  of  a  most  excellent  spe- 
cies of  cotton,  so  that  the  whole  surface  of 
low  bushes  was  in  reality  a  plantation  of  that 


558  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

valuable  article.  This  most  useful  of  almost 
the  whole  range  of  vegetable  productions  be- 
stowed by  Providence  on  man,  which,  with 
the  cost  of  only  a  little  labor,  supplies  him 
with  apparel,  and  commodious  beds  for  the 
repose  of  his  limbs,  is  found  in  such  abund- 
ance in  islands,  that  I  had  been  surprised  at 
not  meeting  with  any  before.  The  pods  had 
burst  from  ripeness,  and  the  winds  had  scat- 
tered around  their  flaky  contents  ;  the  ground 
was  strewed  with  them,  they  had  gathered  in 
tufts  on  the  bushes,  and  they  floated  gently 
in  the  air. 

The  joy  of  this  discovery  was  almost  too 
great  for  utterance,  and  was  shared  by  all 
but  Francis,  who  was  sorry  to  lose  his  pretty 
snowballs ;  and  his  mother,  to  soothe  his 
regret,  made  the  cotton  into  balls  for  him  to 
play  with,  and  promised  him  some  new  shirts 
and  dresses;  then  turning  to  me,  she  poured 
out  her  kind  heart  in  descriptions  of  all  the 
comfortable  things  she  should  make  for  us, 
could  I  but  construct  a  spinning-wheel,  and 
then  a  loom  for  weaving.  —  We  ended  with 
collecting  as  much  cotton  as  our  bags  would 
hold,   and  my  wife  filled  her  pockets  with 


THE   SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON.  559 

the  seed,  to  raise  it  in  our  garden  at  Tent- 
House. 

It  was  now  time  to  proceed ;  and  we  took 
a  direction  towards  a  point  of  land  which 
skirted  the  wood  of  gourds,  and,  being  high, 
commanded  a  view  of  the  adjacent  country. 
I  conceived  a  wish  to  remove  our  establish- 
ment to  the  vicinity  of  the  cotton  plantation 
and  the  gourd  wood,  which  furnished  so  many 
of  the  utensils  for  daily  use  throughout  the 
family.  I  pleased  myself  in  idea,  with  the 
view  of  the  different  colonies  of  animals  I  had 
imagined,  both  winged  and  quadruped ;  and 
in  this  elevation  of  my  fancy,  I  even  thought 
it  might  be  practicable  to  erect  a  sort  of 
farm-house  on  the  soil,  which  we  might  visit 
occasionally,  and  be  welcomed  by  the  agree- 
able sounds  of  the  cackling  of  our  feathered 
subjects,  which  would  so  forcibly  remind  us 
of  the  customs  of  our  forsaken  but  ever-cher- 
ished country. 

We  accordingly  soon  reached  the  high 
ground,  which  I  found  in  all  respects  favor- 
able to  my  design;  behind,  a  thick  forest 
gradually  rose  above  us,  which  sheltered  us 
from  the  north  wind,  and  insensibly  declined 


&60  THE    SYfISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

towards  the  south,  ending  in  a  plain  clothed 
luxuriantly  with  grass,  shrubs,  and  plants,  and 
watered  by  a  refreshing  rivulet,  which  was 
an  incalculable  advantage  for  our  animals  of 
every  kind,  as  well  as  for  ourselves. 

My  plan  for  a  building  was  approved  by 
all,  and  we  lost  no  time  in  pitching  our  tent, 
and  forming  temporary  accommodations  for 
cooking  our  victuals.  When  we  had  refreshed 
ourselves  with  a  meal,  I,  for  my  part,  resolved 
to  look  about  in  all  directions,  that  I  might 
completely  understand  what  we  should  have 
to  depend  upon  in  this  place,  in  point  of 
safety,  salubrity,  and  general  accommoda- 
tion. I  had  also  to  find  a  tree  that  would 
suit  for  the  proposed  construction  of  a  boat : 
and  lastly,  to  meet,  if  possible,  with  a  group 
of  trees,  at  such  fit  distances  from  each  other 
as  would  assist  me  in  my  plan  of  erecting  a 
farm-house.  I  was  fortunate  enough  in  no 
long  time  to  find  in  this  last  respect  exactly 
what  I  wanted,  and  quite  near  to  the  spot 
we  on  many  accounts  had  felt  to  be  so  envi- 
able. I  returned  to  my  companions,  whom  I 
found  busily  employed  in  preparing  excellent 
beds  of  the  cotton,  upon  which,  at  an  earlier 
hour  than  usual,  we  all  retired  to  rest. 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  561      ^ 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Completion  of  two  Farm-Houses;  —  a  Lake;  — 
the  Beast  with  a  Bill;  — a  Boat. 

The  trees  that  I  had  chosen  for  the  con- 
struction of  my  farm  embellishments,  were 
for  the  most  part  one  foot  in  diameter  in  the 
trunk ;  they  presented  the  form  of  a  toler- 
ably regular  parallelogram,  with  its  longest 
side  to  the  sea,  the  length  twenty-four  feet, 
and  the  breadth  sixteen.  I  cut  little  hollow 
places  or  mortices  in  the  trunks,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  ten  feet,  one  above  the  other,  to  form 
two  stories.  The  upper  one  I  made  a  few 
inches  shorter  before  than  behind,  that  the 
roof  might  be  in  some  degree  shelving;  I 
then  inserted  beams  five  inches  in  diameter 
respectively  in  the  mortices,  and  thus  formed 
the  skeleton  of  my  building.  We  next  nailed 
some  laths  from  tree  to  tree,  at  equal  dis- 
tances from  each  other,  to  form  the  roof,  and 
placed  on  them,   in  mathematical  order,  a 


562  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

covering  composed  of  pieces  of  the  bark  of 
trees,  cut  into  the  shape  of  tiles,  and  in  a 
sloping  position,  for  the  rain  to  run  off  in  the 
wet  season.  As  we  had  no  great  provision 
of  iron  nails,  we  used  for  the  purpose  the 
strong  pointed  thorn  of  the  acacia,  which  we 
had  discovered  the  day  before.  We  cut  down 
a  quantity  of  them,  and  laid  them  in  the  sun 
to  dry,  when  they  became  as  hard  as,  iron, 
and  were  of  essential  service  to  our  under- 
taking. We  found  great  difficulty  in  peel- 
ing off  a  sufficient  quantity  of  bark  from 
trees  to  cover  our  roof.  I  began  with  cut- 
ting the  bark  entirely  round  at  distances  of 
about  two  feet  all  the  length  of  the  trunk ;  I 
next  divided  the  intervals  perpendicularly 
into  two  parts,  which  I  separated  from  the 
tree  by  sliding  a  wedge  under  the  corners,  to 
raise  the  bark  by  degrees ;  I  next  placed  the 
pieces  on  the  ground,  with  stones  laid  on  them 
to  prevent  their  curving,  to  dry  in  the  sun ; 
and  lastly  I  nailed  them  on  the  roof,  where 
they  had  the  appearance  of  fishes'  scales  — 
an  effect  that  was  not  only  pleasing  to  the 
eye,  but  reminded  us  of  the  roofs  of  our  na- 
tive land. 


THE   SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  563 

On  this  occasion  we  made  another  agree- 
able discovery  :  my  wife  took  up  the  remain- 
ing chips  of  the  bark  for  lighting  a  fire, 
supposing  they  would  burn  easily ;  we  were 
surprised  by  a  delicious  aromatic  odor,  which 
perfumed  the  air.  On  examining  the  half- 
consumed  substance,  we  found  some  of  the 
pieces  to  contain  turpentine,  and  others  gum- 
mastich,  so  that  we  might  rely  on  a  supply 
of  these  ingredients  from  the  trees  which  had 
furnished  the  bark.  It  was  less  with  a 
view  to  the  gratifying  our  sense  of  smelling, 
than  with  the  hope  of  being  able  to  secure 
these  valuable  drugs  for  making  a  sort  of 
pitch  to  complete  our  meditated  boat,  that 
we  indulged  our  earnestness  in  the  pursuit. 
The  instinct  of  our  goats,  or  the  acuteness  of 
their  smell,  discovered  for  us  another  pleas- 
ing acquisition :  we  observed  with  surprise, 
that  they  ran  from  a  distance  to  roll  them- 
selves on  some  chips  of  a  particular  bark 
which  lay  on  the  ground,  and  which  they  be- 
gan to  chew  and  eat  greedily.  Jack  seized 
a  piece  also,  to  find  out  what  could  be  the 
reason  of  so  marked  a  preference  as  the 
goats  had  shown.     My  wife  and  I  then  fol- 


5G4  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

lowed  his  example,  and  we  were  all  convinced 
that  the  chips  were  cinnamon,  though  not  so 
fine  a  sort  as  that  from  the  isle  of  Ceylon. 

This  new  commodity  was  certainly  of  no 
great  importance  to  us  ;  but  we  regarded  it 
with  pleasure,  as  it  might  assist  to  distinguish 
some  day  of  rejoicing.  The  tree  from  -which 
we  had  taken  our  bark  was  old,  and  the  cin- 
namon was  the  coarser  flavored  on  this  ac- 
count; I  remembered  to  have  read,  that 
young  trees  produce  this  spice  in  much 
greater  perfection. 

After  our  next  meal  we  resumed  with  ar- 
dor our  undertaking  of  the  farm,  which  we 
continued  without  interruption  for  several 
days.  We  formed  the.  walls  with  matted 
reeds  interwoven  with  pliant  laths  to  the 
height  of  six  feet ;  the  remaining  space  to 
the  roof  was  enclosed  with  only  a  simple 
grating,  that  the  air  and  light  might  be  ad- 
mitted. A  door  was  placed  in  the  middle  of 
the  front.  We  next  arranged  the  interior 
with  as  much  convenience  as  the  shortness 
of  the  time  and  our  reluctance  to  use  all  our 
timber  would  allow ;  we  divided  it  half  way 
up  by  a  partition  wall  into  two  unequal  parts ; 


THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON.  565 

tlie  largest  was  intended  for  the  sheep  and 
goats,  and  the  smallest  for  ourselves,  when 
we  should  wish  to  pass  a  few  days  here.  At 
the  further  end  of  the  stable  we  fixed  a 
house  for  the  fowls,  and  above  it  a  sort  of 
hayloft  for  the  forage.  Before  the  door  of 
entrance  we  placed  two  benches,  contrived  as 
well  as  we  could  of  laths  and  odd  pieces  of 
wood,  that  we  might  rest  ourselves  under  the 
shade  of  the  trees,  and  enjoy  the  exquisite 
prospect  which  presented  itself  on  all  sides. 
Our  own  apartment  was  provided  with  a 
couple  of  the  best  bedsteads  we  could  make 
of  twigs  of  trees,  raised  upon  four  legs,  two 
feet  from  the  ground,  and  these  were  des- 
tined to  receive  our  cotton  matresses.  Our 
aim  was  to  content  ourselves  for  the  present 
with  these  slight  hints  of  a  dwelling,  and  to 
consider  hereafter  what  additions  either  of 
convenience  or  ornament  could  be  made,  such 
as  plastering,  &c,  &c.  All  we  were  now 
anxious  about,  was  to  provide  a  shelter  for 
our  animal  colonists,  which  should  encourage 
and  fix  them  in  the  habit  of  assembling  every 
evening  in  one  place.  For  several  days,  at 
fip4,  we  took  care  to  fill  their  troughs  with 


566  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

their  favorite  food,  mixed  with  salt,  and  we 
agreed  that  we  would  return  frequently  to 
repeat  this  indirect  mode  of  invitation  for 
their  society,  till  they  should  be  entirely 
fixed  in  their  expectation  of  finding  it. 

I  had  imagined  we  could  accomplish  what 
we  wished  at  the  farm  in  three  or  four  days ; 
but  we  found  in  the  experiment  that  a  whole 
week  was  necessary,  and  our  victuals  fell 
short  before  our  work  was  done.  We  began 
to  consider  what  remedy  we  could  apply  to 
so  embarrassing  a  circumstance ;  I  could  not 
prevail  upon  myself  to  return  to  Falcon's 
Stream,  before  I  had  completed  my  inten- 
tions at  the  farm,  and  the  other  objects  of 
my  journey.  I  had  even  come  to  the  deter- 
mination of  erecting  another  building  upon 
the  site  of  Cape  Disappointment ;  I  therefore 
decided,  that  on  this  trying  occasion  I  would 
invest  Fritz  and  Jack  with  the  important 
mission.  They  were  accordingly  despatched 
to  Falcon's  Stream,  and  to  Tent-House,  to 
fetch  new  supplies  of  cheese,  ham,  potatoes, 
dried  fish,  manioc  bread,  for  our  subsistence, 
and  also  to  distribute  fresh  food  to  the  nu- 
merous animals  we  had  left  there.     I  directed 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  567 

one  to  mount  the  onagra,  and  the  other  the 
buffalo.  My  two  knights-errant,  proud  of 
their  embassy,  set  off  with  a  brisk  trot ;  they 
at  my  desire  took  with  them  the  old  ass,  to 
bring  the  load  of  provisions.  Fritz  was  to 
lead  him  with  a  bridle,  while  Jack  smacked  a 
whip  near  his  ears  to  quicken  his  motions ; 
and  certainly,  whether  from  the  influence  of 
climate,  or  the  example  of  his  companion  the 
onagra,  he  had  lost  much  of  his  accustomed 
inactivity ;  and  this  was  the  more  important, 
as  I  intended  to  make  a  saddle  for  my  wife 
to  get  on  his  back,  and  relieve  herself  occa- 
sionally from  the  fatigue  of  walking. 

During  the  absence  of  our  purveyors,  I 
rambled  with  Ernest  about  the  neighboring 
soil,  to  make  what  new  discoveries  I  could, 
and  to  procure,  if  possible,  additions  to  our 
store  of  provisions.  We  followed  the  wind- 
ing of  a  river  towards  the  middle  of  the  wall 
of  rocks ;  our  course  was  interrupted  by  a 
marsh  which  bordered  a  small  lake,  the  as- 
pect of  which  was  enchantingly  picturesque. 
I  perceived,  with  joyful  surprise,  that  the 
whole  surface  of  the  swampy  soil  was  covered 
with  a  kind  of  wild  rice,  ripe  on  the  stalk, 


568  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

and  which  attracted  the  voracity  of  large 
flocks  of  birds.  As  we  approached,  a  loud 
rustling  was  heard,  and  we  distinguished  on 
the  wing,  bustards,  Canada  heath-fowl,  and 
great  numbers  of  smaller  birds.  We  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  down  five  or  six  of  them, 
and  I  was  pleased  to  remark  in  Ernest  a  just- 
ness of  aim  that  promised  well  for  the  future. 
The  habits  of  his  mind  discovered  themselves 
on  this  as  on  many  previous  occasions ;  he 
betrayed  no  ardor,  he  did  every  thing  with  a 
slowness  that  seemed  to  imply  dislike ;  yet 
the  cool  deliberation  and  constancy  he  ap- 
plied to  every  attempt  so  effectually  assisted 
his  judgment,  that  he  was  sure  to  arrive  at  a 
more  perfect  execution  than  the  other  boys. 
He  had  practised  but  little  in  the  study  of 
how  to  fire  a  gun  to  the  best  advantage ;  but 
Ernest  was  a  silent  inquirer  and  observer, 
and  accordingly  his  first  essays  were  gener- 
ally crowned  with  success. 

Presently  we  saw  Master  Knips  jump  from 
Flora's  back,  and  smell  along  the  ground 
among  some  thick  growing  plants,  then  pluck 
off  something  with  his  two  paws,  and  eat  of  it 
voraciously.     We  ran  to  the  spot  to  see  what 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON.  569 

it  could  be,  when  to  the  relief  of  our  parched 
palates,  we  found  he  had  discovered  there 
the  largest  and  finest  kind  of  strawberry, 
which  is  called  in  Europe  the  Chili  or  pine 
strawberry.  On  this  occasion,  the  proud 
creature,  man,  generously  condescended  to 
be  the  imitator  of  a  monkey ;  we  threw  our- 
selves upon  the  ground,  as  near  to  Knips  as 
we  could  creep,  and  eat  as  fast  as  we  could 
swallow,  till  we  felt  refreshed.  Many  of 
these  strawberries  were  of  an  enormous  size, 
and  Ernest,  after  devouring  an  immense 
quantity,  recollected  his  absent  friends,  and 
filled  a  small  gourd-shell  with  the  finest  fruit, 
then  covered  them  with  leaves,  and  tied  them 
down  with  a  tendril  from  a  neighboring 
plant,  to  present  them  in  perfection  to  his 
mother.  I,  on  my  part,  gathered  a  speci- 
men of  the  rice  to  offer,  that  she  might  in- 
form us  if  it  was  fit  for  culinary  purposes. 

Pursuing  our  way  a  little  further  along  the 
marsh,  we  reached  the  lake,  which  we  had 
descried  with  so  much  pleasure  from  a  dis- 
tance, and  whose  banks,  being  overgrown 
with  thick  underwood,  were  necessarily  con- 
cealed from  the  momentary  view  we  had  leis- 


570  THE   SWISS   FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

ure  to  take  of  surrounding  objects,  particu- 
larly as  the  lake  was  situated  in  a  deep  and 
abrupt  valley.  No  one,  who  is  not  a  native 
of  Switzerland,  can  conceive  the  emotion 
which  trembled  at  my  heart,  as  I  contem- 
plated this  limpid,  azure,  undulating  body  of 
water,  the  faithful  miniature  of  so  many  grand 
originals,  which  I  had  probably  lost  sight  of 
forever  !  My  eyes  swam  with  tears  !  Alas  ! 
a  single  glance  upon  the  surrounding  picture, 
the  different  characters  of  the  trees,  the  vast 
ocean  in  the  distance,  destroyed  the  momen- 
tary illusion,  and  brought  back  my  ideas  to 
the  painful  reality,  that  I  and  mine  were  — 
strangers  in  a  desert  island! 

Another  sort  of  object  now  presented  itself 
to  confirm  the  certainty  that  we  were  no  lon- 
ger inhabitants  of  Europe;  it  was  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  quantity  of  swans  gliding  over 
the  surface  of  the  lake ;  but  their  color  in- 
stead of  white,  like  those  of  our  country,  was 
a  jetty  black,  and  their  plumage  had  so  high 
a  gloss  as  to  produce,  reflected  on  the  water, 
the  most  astonishing  effect.  The  six  large 
feathers  of  the  wings  of  this  bird  are  white, 
exhibiting  a  singular  contrast  to  the  rest  of- 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  571 

the  body ;  in  other  respects  these  birds  were 
remarkable,  like  those  of  Europe,  for  the 
haughty  gracefulness  of  their  motions,  and 
the  voluptuous  ease  of  their  nature.  We  re- 
mained a  long  time  in  silent  admiration  of 
them :  some  of  the  swans  pursued  their  course 
magnificently  on  the  bosom  of  the  blue  wa- 
ter ;  others  stopped  and  seemed  to  hold  de- 
liberations with  their  companions,  or  to  ad- 
mire themselves,  or  caress  each  other ;  many 
young  ones  followed  in  the  train  of  the  par- 
ent bird,  who  frequently  turned  half  round, 
in  execution  of  her  watchful  and  matronly 
office.  This  was  a  spectacle  which  I  could 
not  allow  to  be  interrupted  by  bloodshed, 
though  Ernest,  rendered  a  little  vain  by  his 
success  and  my  encomiums,  would  have  been 
ready  to  fire  upon  the  swans,  if  I  had  not 
absolutely  forbidden  the  attempt;  at  the 
same  time  I  consoled  him  with  the  promise, 
that  we  would  endeavor  to  obtain  a  pair  of 
the  interesting  creatures  for  our  establish- 
ment at  Falcon's  Stream. 

Flora  at  this  moment  dragged  out  of  the 
water   a  creature   she  had  killed.      It  wa8 

somewhat  in  shape  like  an  otter,  and  like  the 

38 


572  THE   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

tribe  of  water  birds,  web-footed :  its  tail  was 
long  and  erect,  and  covered  with  a  soft  kind 
of  hair;  the  head  was  very  small,  and  the 
ears  and  eyes  were  almost  invisible  ;  to  these 
more  ordinary  characters  was  added,  a  long 
flat  bill,  like  that  of  a  duck,  which  protruded 
from  its  snout,  and  produced  so  ludicrous  an 
effect  that  we  could  not  resist  a  hearty  laugh. 
All  the  science  of  the  learned  Ernest,  joined 
with  my  own,  was  insufficient  to  ascertain  the 
name  and  nature  of  this  animal.  We  had  no 
resource  but  to  remain  ignorant;  in  the 
meantime  we  christened  it  by  the  name  of 
Beast  with  a  bill,  and  decided  that  it  should 
be  carefully  stuffed  and  preserved. 

We  now  began  to  look  for  the  shortest 
path  for  returning  to  the  farm,  which  we 
reached  at  the  same  time  with  Fritz  and 
Jack,  who  had  well  performed  the  object  of 
their  journey.  We,  on  our  parts,  produced 
our  offering  of  strawberries  and  our  specimen 
of  rice,  which  were  welcomed  with  shouts  of 
pleasure  and  surprise. 

The  beast  with  a  bill  was  next  examined 
with  eager  curiosity,  and  then  laid  aside  for 
the  plan  I  had  formed.     My  wife  proceeded 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  573 

to  pluck  and  salt  the  birds  we  had  killed,  re- 
serving one  fresh  for  our  supper,  which  we 
partook  of  together  upon  the  benches  before 
the  door  of  our  new  habitation.  We  filled 
the  stable  with  forage,  laid  a  large  provision 
of  grain  for  the  fowls  within  their  house,  and 
began  arrangements  for  our  departure. 

The  following  day  we  took  a  silent  leave 
of  our  animals,  and  directed  our  course  to- 
wards the  eminence  in  the  vicinity  of  Cape 
Disappointment;  we  ascended  it,  and  found 
it  in  every  respect  adapted  to  our  wishes. 
From  this  eminence  we  had  a  view  over  the 
country  which  surrounded  Falcon's  Stream 
in  one  direction,  and  in  others  of  a  richly  di- 
versified extent  of  landscape,  comprehending 
sea,  land,  and  rocks.  When  we  had  paused 
for  a  short  time  upon  the  exhaustless  beau- 
ties of  the  scene,  we  agreed  with  one  voice, 
that  it  should  be  on  this  spot  we  would  build 
our  second  cottage.  A  spring  of  the  clearest 
water  issued  from  the  soil  near  the  summit, 
and  flowed  over  its  sloping  side,  forming 
agreeable  cascades  in  its  rapid  course ;  in 
short,  every  feature  of  the  picture  contrib- 
uted to  form  a  landscape  worthy  the  homage 


574  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

of  a  taste  the  most  delicate  and  refined.  I 
presented  my  children  with  an  appropriate 
word.  —  "Let  us  build  here,"  exclaimed  I, 
"and  call  the  spot  —  Arcadia;"  to  which 
my  wife  and  all  agreed. 

We  lost  no  time  in  again  setting  to  work ; 
our  experience  at  the  farm  enabled  us  to  pro- 
ceed with  incredible  rapidity,  and  our  suc- 
cess was  in  every  respect  more  complete. 
The  building  contained  a  dining-room,  two 
bedchambers,  two  stables,  and  a  storeroom 
for  preserving  all  kinds  of  provisions  for  man 
and  beast.  We  formed  the  roof  square,  with 
four  sloped  sides,  and  the  whole  had  really 
the  appearance  of  a  European  cottage,  and 
was  finished  in  the  short  space  of  six  days. 
What  now  remained  to  be  done,  was  to  fix  on 
a  tree  fit  for  my  project  of  a  boat.  After 
much  search,  I  at  length  found  one  of  prodi- 
gious size,  and  in  most  respects  suitable  to 
my  views. 

It  was,  however,  no  very  encouraging 
prospect  I  had  before  me,  being  nothing  less 
than  the  stripping  off  a  piece  of  the  bark  that 
should  be  eighteen  feet  in  length,  and  five  in 
diameter ;  and  now  I  found  my  rope-ladder 


THE    SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON.  675 

of  signal  service  ;  we  fastened  it  by  one  end 
to  the  nearest  branches,  and  it  enabled  us  to 
work  with  the  saw,  as  might  be  necessary,  at 
any  height  from  the  ground.  Accordingly, 
we  cut  quite  round  the  trunk  in  two  places, 
and  then  took  a  perpendicular  slip  from  the 
whole  length  between  the  circles ;  by  this 
means  we  could  introduce  the  proper  utensils 
for  raising  the  rest  by  degrees,  till  it  was  en- 
tirely separated.  We  toiled  with  increasing 
anxiety,  at  every  moment  dreading  that  we 
should  not  be  able  to  preserve  it  from  break- 
ing, or  uninjured  by  our  tools.  When  we 
had  loosened  about  half,  we  supported  it  by 
means  of  cords  and  pulleys;  and  when  all 
was  at  length  detached,  we  let  it  down  gently, 
and  with  joy  beheld  it  lying  safe  on  the  grass. 
Our  business  was  next  to  mould  it  to  our 
purpose,  while  the  substance  continued  moist 
and  flexible. 

The  boys  observed  that  we  had  now  noth- 
ing more  to  do,  than  to  nail  a  plank  at  each 
end,  and  our  boat  would  be  as  complete  as 
those  used  by  the  savages  ;  but,  for  my-  own 
part,  I  could  not  be  contented  with  a  mere 
roll  of  bark  for  a  boat ;  and  when  I  reminded 


676  THE   SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

them  of  the  paltry  figure  it  would  make,  fol- 
lowing the  pinnace,  I  heard  not  another  word 
about  the  further  pains  and  trouble,  and  they 
asked  eagerly  for  my  instructions.  I  made 
them  assist  me  to  saw  the  bark  in  the  middle 
of  the  two  ends,  the  length  of  several  feet ; 
these  two  parts  I  folded  over  till  they  ended 
in  a  point ;  I  kept  them  in  this  form  by  the 
help  of  the  strong  glue  I  had  before  made 
from  fish-bladders,  and  pieces  of  wood  nailed 
fast  over  the  whole ;  this  operation  tended  to 
widen  the  boat  in  the  middle,  and  thus  ren- 
der it  of  too  flat  a  form ;  but  this  we  coun- 
teracted by  straining  a  cord  all  round,  which 
again  reduced  it  to  the  due  proportion,  and 
in  this  state  we  put  it  in  the  sun,  to  harden 
and  fix.  Many  things  were  still  wanting  to 
the  completion  of  my  undertaking,  but  I  had 
not  with  me  proper  utensils :  I  therefore  de- 
spatched the  boys  to  Tent-House,  to  fetch 
the  sledge,  and  convey  it  there  for  our  better 
convenience  in  finishing. 

Before  our  departure  for  Tent-House,  we 
collected  several  new  plants  for  our  kitchen- 
garden  ;  and  lastly,  we  made  another  trip  to 
the  narrow  strait  at  the  end  of  the  wall  of 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  577 

rocks,  resolved,  as  I  before  mentioned,  to 
plant  there  a  sort  of  fortification  of  trees, 
which  should  produce  the  double  effect  of  dis- 
couraging the  invasion  of  savages,  and  allow- 
ing us  to  keep  our  pigs  on  the  other  side,  and 
thus  secure  our  different  plantations  from  the 
chance  of  injury.  We  accomplished  all  these 
intentions  to  our  entire  satisfaction,  and  in 
addition,  we  placed  a  slight  drawbridge  across 
the  river  beyond  the  narrow  pass,  which  we 
could  let  down  or  take  up  at  pleasure  on  our 
side.  We  now  hastened  our  return  to  Arca- 
dia, and  after  a  night's  repose  we  loaded  the 
sledge  with  the  boat  and  other  matters,  and 
returned  to  Tent-House. 

As  soon  as  we  had  despatched  some  neces- 
sary affairs,  we  resumed  the  completion  of 
the  boat :  in  two  days  she  had  received  the 
addition  of  a  keel,  a  neat  lining  of  wood,  a 
small  flat  floor,  benches,  a  small  mast  and 
triangular  sail,  a  rudder,  and  a  thick  coat  of 
pitch  on  the  outside,  so  that  the  first  time  we 
saw  her  in  the  water,  we  were  all  in  ecstacies 
at  the  charming  appearance  she  made. 
v  Our  cow  in  the  meantime  had  brought  forth 
a  young  calf,  a  male ;  I  pierced  its  nostril,  as 


578  THE   SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

I  had  so  successfully  practised  with  the  buf- 
falo, and  it  gave  promise  of  future  docility 
and  strength. 

We  had  still  two  months  in  prospect  before 
the  rainy  season,  and  we  employed  them  for 
completing  our  abode  in  the  grotto,  with  the 
exception  of  such  ornaments  as  we  might 
have  time  to  think  of  during  the  long  days 
of  winter.  We  made  the  internal  divisions 
of  planks,  and  that  which  separated  us  from 
the  stables,  of  stone,  to  protect  us  from  the 
offensive  smell  occasioned  by  the  animals. 
Our  task  was  difficult,  but  from  habit  it  be- 
came easier  every  day.  We  took  care  to 
collect  or  manufacture  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  all  sorts  of  materials,  such  as  beams  and 
planks,  reeds  and  twigs  for  matting,  pieces 
of  gypsum  for  plaster,  &c,  &c.  At  length 
the  time  of  the  rainy  season  was  near  at 
hand,  and  we  thought  of  it  with  pleasure,  as 
it  would  put  us  in  possession  of  the  enjoy- 
ments we  had  procured  by  such  unremitting 
industry  and  fatigue.  We  had  an  inexpres- 
sible longing  to  find  ourselves  domiciliated, 
and  at  leisure  to  converse  together  on  the 
subject  of  all  the  wondrous  benefits  bestowed 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON.  579 

upon  us  by  an  ever  watchful  and  beneficent 
Providence ! 

We  plastered  over  the  walls  of  the  princi- 
pal apartments  on  each  side  with  the  greatest 
care,  finishing  them  by  pressure  with  a  flat 
smooth  board,  and  lastly  a  wash  of  size,  in 
the  manner  of  the  plasterers  of  Europe. 
This  ornamental  portion  of  our  work  amused 
us  all  so  much,  that  we  began  to  think  we 
might  venture  a  step  further  in  European 
luxury,  and  agreed  that  we  would  attempt  to 
make  some  carpets  with  the  hair  of  our  goats. 
To  this  effect  we  smoothed  the  ground  in  the 
rooms  we  intended  to  distinguish,  with  great 
care ;  then  spread  over  it  some  sail-cloth, 
which  my  wife  had  joined  in  breadths,  and 
fitted  exactly;  we  next  strewed  the  goat's 
hair,  mixed  with  wool  obtained  from  the 
sheep,  over  the„  whole ;  on  this  surface  we 
threw  some  hot  water,  in  which  a  strong  ce- 
ment had  been  dissolved ;  the  whole  was  then 
rolled  up,  and  was  beaten  for  a  considerable 
time  with  hard  sticks ;  the  sail-cloth  was  now 
unrolled,  and  the  inside  again  sprinkled, 
rolled,  and  beaten  as  before ;  and  this  pro- 
cess was  continued  till  the  substance  had  be- 


580  THE  SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON. 

come  a  sort  of  felt,  which  could  be  separated 
from  the  sail-cloth,  and  was  lastly  put  in  the 
sun  to  harden.  We  thus  produced  a  very 
tolerable  substitute  for  that  enviable  article 
of  European  comfort,  a  carpet :  of  these  we 
completed  two;  one  for  our  parlor,  and  the 
other  for  our  drawing-room,  as  we  jocosely 
named  them ;  both  of  which  were  completely 
fit  for  our  reception  by  the  time  the  rains  had 
set  in. 

All  we  had  suffered  during  this  season  in 
the  preceding  year  doubled  the  value  of  the 
comforts  and  conveniences  with  which  we 
were  now  surrounded.  We  were  never  tired 
of  admiring  our  warm  and  well-arranged 
apartments,  lighted  with  windows,  and  well 
secured  with  doors  from  wind  and  rain,  and 
our  granary  filled  with  more  than  a  sufficient 
winter  supply  of  food  for  ourselves  and  for 
our  cattle.  In  the  morning,  our  first  care 
was  to  feed  and  give  them  drink ;  and  both 
these  were  now  constantly  at  hand,  without 
the  pains  of  fetching  or  preparing  :  after  this 
we  assembled  in  the  parlor,  where  prayers 
were  read,  and  breakfast  immediately  served : 
we  then   adjourned   to   the   common   room, 


THE   SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON.  581 

where  all  sorts  of  industry  went  forward,  and 
which  contained  the  spinning-wheel  and  loom 
I  had,  though  with  indifferent  success,  con- 
structed to  gratify  my  wife.  Here  ail  united 
in  the  business  of  producing  different  kinds 
of  substances,  which  she  afterwards  made 
into  apparel.  I  had  also  contrived  to  con- 
struct a  turning  machine,  having  used  for 
the  purpose  one  of  the  small  cannon  wheels, 
with  the  help  of  which  the  boys  and  I  man- 
aged to  produce  some  neat  utensils  for  gen- 
eral use.  After  dinner,  our  work  was  re- 
sumed till  night,  when  we  lighted  candles ; 
and  as  they  cost  no  more  than  our  own  trou- 
ble in  collecting  and  manufacturing  the  ma- 
terials, we  did  not  refuse  ourselves  the  pleas- 
ure of  using  many  at  a  time,  to  admire  their 
lights  splendidly  reflected  by  the  crystals 
every  where  pendent.  We  had  formed  a 
convenient  portion  of  our  dwelling  into  a 
small  chapel,  in  which  we  left  the  crystals  as 
produced  by  nature ;  and  they  exhibited  a 
wondrous  assemblage  of  colonades,  porticoes, 
altars,  which,  when  the  place  was  lighted  to 
supply  the  want  of  a  window,  presented  a 
truly  enchanting  spectacle.     Divine  service 


582  THE    SWISS    FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

was  performed  in  it  regularly  every  Sunday. 
I  had  raised  a  sort  of  pulpit,  from  which  I 
pronounced  such  discourses  as  I  had  framed 
for  the  instruction  of  my  affectionate  group 
of  auditors.  Jack  and  Francis  had  a  natu- 
ral inclination  for  music.  I  did  the  most  I 
could  in  making  a  flageolet  apiece  for  them 
of  two  reeds,  on  which  they  so  frequently 
practised  as  to  attain  a  tolerable  proficiency : 
they  accompanied  their  mother,  who  had  a 
sweet-toned  voice,  the  volume  of  which  was 
doubled  by  the  echoes  of  the  grottos,  and 
they  produced  together  a  very  pleasing  little 
concert. 

Thus,  as  will  be  perceived,  we  had  made 
the  first  steps  towards  a  condition  of  civili- 
zation: separated  from  society,  condemned, 
perhaps,  to  pass  the  remainder  of  life  in  this 
desert  island,  we  yet  possessed  the  means  of 
happiness ;  we  had  abundance  of  all  the  ne- 
cessaries, and  many  of  the  comforts,  desired 
by  human  beings  !  We  had  fixed  habits  of  ac- 
tivity and  industry ;  we  were  in  ourselves  se- 
rene and  contented ;  our  bodily  health  and 
strength  increased  from  day  to  day ;  the  sen- 
timent of  tender  attachment  was  perfect  in 


THE    SWISS    FAMILY    ROBINSON.  583 

every  heart;  we  every  day  acquired  some  new 
and  still  improving  channel  for  the  exertion 
of  our  physical  and  moral  faculties  ;  we  every 
where  beheld,  and  at  all  times  acknowledged, 
marks  of  the  divine  wisdom  and  goodness ; 
our  minds  were  penetrated  with  love,  grati- 
tude, and  veneration  for  the  Providence  who 
had  so  miraculously  rescued  and  preserved 
us,  and  conducted  us  to  the  true  destination 
of  man  —  that  of  providing  by  his  labor  for 
the  wants  of  his  offspring !  I  trusted  in  the 
same  goodness  for  restoring  us  once  more  to 
the  society  of  our  fellow  men,  or  for  bestow- 
ing upon  us  the  means  of  founding  in  this 
desert  a  happy  and  flourishing  colony  of  hu- 
man beings,  and  waiting  in  silence  for  the 
further  manifestation  of  his  holy  will,  we 
passed  our  days  in  a  course  of  industry, 
innocent  pleasures,  and  reciprocal  affec- 
tion. Nearly  two  years  have  elapsed  with- 
out perceiving  the  smallest  trace  of  civilized 
or  savage  man ;  without  the  appearance  of 
a  single  vessel  or  canoe  upon  the  vast  sea 
.by  which  we  are  surrounded.  Ought  we 
then  to  indulge  a  hope  that  we  shall  once 


584  THE    SWISS    FAMILY   ROBINSON. 

again  behold  the  face  of  a  fellow  creature  ? 
—  We  encourage  serenity  and  thankfulness 
in  each  other,  and  wait  with  resignation  the 
event. 


.4 


POSTSCRIPT  BY  THE  EDITOR. 


I  have  presented  the  public  with  the  part  I  had  in  my 
possession  of  the  Journal  of  the  Swiss  Pastor,  who,  with 
his  family,  was  shipwrecked  on  a  desert  island.  It  now 
remains  for  me  to  inform  the  reader  by  what  means  the 
Journal  of  the  Swiss  Pastor  came  into  my  possession. 

Three  or  four  years  subsequent  to  the  occurrence  of 
the  shipwreck  of  the  pastor  and  his  family,  an  English 
transport  was  driven  by  a  tempest  upon  the  same  shore. 
The  name  of  the  vessel  was  The  Adventurer,  Captain 
Johnson :  it  was  on  a  voyage  from  New  Zealand  to  the 
eastern  coast  of  North  America,  by  Otaheite,  in  the  South 
Seas,  to  fetch  a  cargo  of  skins  and  furs  for  China,  and  to 
proceed  from  Canton  to  England.  A  violent  lempest  of 
several  days'  duration  drove  it  from  its  track.  The  ves- 
sel continued  to  beat  about  the  unknown  seas,  and  was 
now  so  injured  by  the  weather,  that  the  best  hope  of  the 
captain  and  his  company  was  to  get  into  some  port  where 
they  might  refit.  They  discovered  a  coast  with  some 
high  lands,  and  as  the  wind  had  somewhat  abated,  they 
made  with  all  speed  for  the  shore.  "When  within  a  short 
distance,  they  cast  their  anchor,  and  put  out  a  boat  con- 
taining some  of  the  officers,  to  examine  the  coast,  and 
find  a  place  for  landing.  They  rowed  backward  and 
forward  for  some  time  without  success :  at  length  they 
turned  a  promontory,  and  perceived  a  bay  whose  calm 
waters  seemed  to  invite  their  approach.  This  was  the 
Safety  Bay  of  the  wrecked  islanders :  the  boat  put  on 
shore,  and  the  officers  with  astonishment  beheld  the 
traces  of  the  abode  of  man.  A  handsome,  well-condi- 
tioned pinnace  and  a  small  boat  were  there  at  anchor : 
near  the  strand  under  a  rock  was  a  tent,  and  further 
on,  in  the  rock,  a  house-door  and  windows  announced 


586  POSTSCPvIPT   BY   THE   EDITOR. 

European  comforts  and  workmanship.  The  officers  ad- 
vanced towards  the  spot,  and  were  met  half-way  by  a 
man  of  middle  age,  dressed  like  a  European,  and  armed 
with  a  gun.  The  stranger  accosted  them  with  friendly 
tones  and  gestures ;  he  spoke  first  in  German,  and  then 
some  words  in  English.  Lieutenant  Bell,  one  of  the 
English  officers,  who  spoke  the  German  language,  an- 
swered. A  mutual  confidence  immediately  ensued.  We 
need  not  add,  that  the  stranger  was  the  Family  Robin- 
son, whose  wife  and  children  happened  at  the  moment 
to  be  at  Falcon's  Stream.  He  had  discovered  the  Eng- 
lish ship  in  the  morning  with  his  glass ;  and,  unwilling 
to  alarm  his  family,  he  had  come,  perceiving  she  bore 
that  way,  alone  to  the  coast. 

After  an  interchange  of  cordial  feelings,  and  a  hos- 
pitable reception  of  the  officers  at  the  dwelling,  the 
Swiss  Pastor  put  his  Journal  into  the  hands  of  Lieuten- 
ant Bell,  to  be  conveyed  to  Captain  Johnson,  that  he 
also  might  become  acquainted  with  the  story  of  the  sol- 
itary islanders.  At  the  end  of  an  hour's  conversation, 
the  newly-found  friends  separated,  in  the  pleasing  ex- 
pectation of  meeting  again  on  the  following  day.  —  But 
Heaven  had  otherwise  ordained. 

During  the  night  the  tempest  revived  with  new  ter- 
rors. The  Adventurer  could  not  be  held  at  anchor,  but 
was  obliged  to  steer  for  safety  to  the  bosom  of  the  ocean. 
As  there  was  no  favorable  change  of  weather  for  several 
days,  the  vessel  was  driven  so  far  from  the  coast  of 
Safety  Bay,  as  to  leave  no  possibility  of  returning,  and 
Captain  Johnson  was  compelled  to  renounce  the  gratifi- 
cation of  seeing  this  extraordinary  family,  or  of  propos- 
ing to  convey  them  all  to  Europe. 

Captain  Johnson  brought  the  Journal  of  the  Swiss  Pas- 
tor to  England,  whence  it  was  transmitted  to  a  friend  in 
Switzerland,  who  has  deemed  its  contents  an  instructive 
lesson  to  the  world. 


• 


